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.NKLIN  STEWART  H 


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THE  YOUNG  MAN 
AND  HIS  VOCATION 


BY 


FRANKLIN  STEWART  HARRIS,  Ph.D. 

ProjessOT  of  Agronomy  and  Director  of  the  School  of  Agricultural 

Engineering  and  Mechanic  Arts,  Utah  Agricultural  College, 

and  Director  of  Utah  Agricultural  Experiment  Station 


■5S/08 

BOSTON:  RICHARD  G.  BADGER 

TORONTO:    THE     COPP     CLARK     CO.,     LIMITED 


Copyright,  1916,  by  Richard  G.  Badger 


All  Rights  Reserved 


The  Gorham  Press,  Boston,  U   S.  A. 
Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


53  o\ 


DEDICATED  TO  THE  YOUNG  MEN  OF  TO-DAY, 
WHO  WILL  BE  THE  WORKERS  OF  TO-MORROW. 

with  the  conviction  that  educating 
and  training  the  present  rising  gen- 
eration will  result  in  bettering  the 
industrial  conditions  of  the  future. 


PREFACE 

THERE  is  a  tremendous  waste  in  the  world 
due  to  the  fact  that  many  of  the  workers 
have  not  found  the  vocation  for  which  they  are 
adapted  and  are  not  trained  in  the  work  they  are 
doing.  If  by  some  means  the  forty  million  indi- 
viduals in  the  United  States  who  are  engaged  in 
gainful  occupations  could  be  transferred  to  the  kind 
of  work  for  which  they  are  suited  and  could  have 
the  proper  training  for  that  work,  the  annual  ad- 
dition of  wealth  to  the  nation  would  be  almost  be- 
yond computation.  If  the  earning  capacity  of  each 
individual  were  increased  by  ten  cents  a  day,  more 

iti    than  a  billion  dollars  would  be  added  to  the  earn- 

"^    ings  of  the  workers  each  year. 

It  is  obviously  impossible  to  completely  readjust 
those  of  mature  years  who  are  already  settled  in 
their  occupations;  the  relief  must  come  through  the 
young  people  whose  careers  are  before  them.  Each 
year  sees  an  army  of  young  men  entering  the  in- 
dustrial field  as  wage  earners.  Why  can  not  these 
be  so  directed  in  their  choice  of  vocations  and  in 
training  themselves  for  their  work,  that  part  of  the 
great  wastage  of  youth  will  be  discontinued.? 

5 


6  Preface 

This  little  volume  was  written  as  an  aid  to  young 
men  who  are  anxious  to  make  the  most  out  of  their 
lives.  An  attempt  has  been  made  to  present  in 
simple  language  a  view  of  the  opportunities  in  the 
leading  occupations,  and  to  show  the  personal  re- 
quirements and  training  desirable  for  those  entering 
each  of  these  occupations.  The  young  man  is  con- 
ducted through  the  apartment  house  of  life  and  al- 
lowed to  examine  each  of  the  rooms.  The  price  to 
be  paid  for  living  in  each  is  explained.  After  the 
examination  is  over  an  opportunity  is  given  to  choose 
the  place  where  he  will  spend  his  life.  Too  many 
young  men  who  do  not  have  a  guide  settle  down 
in  the  first  room  they  come  to  without  knowing  what 
else  is  available.  Probably  some  other  room  would 
suit  them  better  if  they  only  knew. 

In  Part  II  a  number  of  chapters  are  given  to 
assist  the  young  man  in  choosing  from  the  voca- 
tions discussed  in  Part  I,  and  also  to  give  him  the 
proper  attitude  toward  his  work  regardless  of  the 
occupation  he  may  select. 

If  only  a  few  young  men  are  helped  by  these 
pages  to  find  greater  happiness  and  efficiency  in 
their  work  the  author  will  feel  repaid  for  any  ef- 
fort he  has  put  forth. 


CONTENTS 

PART  I.    THE   VOCATIONS 
CHAPTER  I 

PAGE 

The  Need  of  Vocations 9 

Undivided  work — Modern  society  complex — The  division 
of  labor — Dangers  of  overspecialization. 

CHAPTER  n 

Classification  of  Man's  Activities 15 

Industrial  changes — Methods  of  classifying  vocations — 
Various  methods  of  getting  a  living — Number  engaged  in 
various  pursuits. 

CHAPTER  III 

Agriculture 23 

Definition — Divisions  of  agriculture — Personal  qualities 
desirable — Preparation  necessary  for  agriculture — The 
effect  on  the  individual — Compensation  in  agriculture — 
Opportunities  in  agriculture — How  to  begin  farming. 

CHAPTER  IV 

The  Trades 34 

Definition — Importance  of  the  trades — Personal  qualities 
for  tradesmen — Learning  a  trade — Effects  on  individual — 
The  tradesman's  pay — Opportunities  open  to  tradesmen — 
What  trade  to  learn. 


8  Contents 

CHAPTER  V 

PAGE 

Business 42 

Scope  of  business — Honesty  in  business — Training  for 
business — Getting  a  start — Working  up  in  business — 
Room  at  the  top — Getting  on  with  people — Cost  account- 
ing and  scientific  management  in  business. 

CHAPTER  VI 

Branches  of  Commerce 51 

Merchandising — Banking — Transportation  activities — In- 
surance— Telegraph  and  telephone — Other  business  ac- 
tivities. 

CHAPTER  VII 

Manufacturing 60 

Importance — Kinds  of  manufacturing — Advantages  of 
manufacturing  to  the  community — Undesirable  factory 
conditions — Scientific  management  in  manufacturing — 
The  handling  of  men — Desirable  qualities  in  a  manufac- 
turer— How  to  become  a  manufacturer. 

CHAPTER  VIII 

Engineering 67 

Kindt  zi  engineering — Importance  of  engineering — Desir- 
able qualities  of  an  engineer — Preparation  for  engineer- 
ing— Opportunities  in  engineering. 

CHAPTER  IX 

.'Architecture 73 

Definition  of  architecture — Importance  of  architecture — 
Qualities  of  an  architect — Training  for  architecture — Op- 
portunities in  architecture. 


Contents  9 

CHAPTER  X 

?AGE 

Medicine .      .     78 

Importance — The  prospective  doctor — Only  good  doctors 
needed — Preparing  to  be  a  doctor — Beginning  practise — 
Dentistry. 

CHAPTER  XI 

Law 85 

The  need  of  law — Desirable  qualities  in  a  lawyer — Prep- 
aration for  legal  practise — Opportunities  in  law. 

CHAPTER  XII 

Politics 91 

Definition — Importance  of  politics — Polit^'cs  as  a  career. 

CHAPTER  XIII 

Teaching 96 

Kinds  of  teaching — Importance  of  teaching — Desirable 
qualities  of  a  teacher — Preparation  for  teaching — Com- 
pensation of  teachers — Opportunities  in  teaching. 

CHAPTER  XIV 

Art 103 

Importance — Personal  qualities  of  an  artist — Preparation — 
Opportunities  in  art — Music — The  stage. 

CHAPTER  XV 

Mining 109 

Importance  of  mining — Kinds  of  mining — The  people  who 
mine — Preparation  for  mining — Compensation  in  mining — 
Opportunities  in  mining. 


10  Contents 

CHAPTER  XVI 

rAGE 

Research  and  Invention         114 

Meaning  of  research — Importance  of  research — The  man 
of  research — Preparing  for  investigation — Opportunities 
for  investigation. 

CHAPTER  XVII 

Journalism  and  Authorship 121 

The  powet  of  the  press — The  function  of  a  newspaper — 
The  newspaper  man — Opportunities  in  journalism — Au- 
thorship. 

PART  II.     RELATION  OF  THE  YOUNG  MAN  TO  HIS 
WORK 

CHAPTER  XVIII 
Choosing  a  Vocation 131 

Stumbling  into  a  vocation — Vocational  guidance — Broad 
preliminary  training — Considerations  that  count — The 
commonplace  vs.  the  spectacular — Play  the  game. 

CHAPTER  XIX 

Training  for  a  Life's  Work 139 

DifTerent  requirements — Thoroughness  in  preparation  nec- 
essary— Apprenticeships — Special  school  training — Prep- 
aration the  key  to  opportunity. 

CHAPTER  XX 

The  Glory  of  Work 145 

Man  naturally  likes  to  expend  energy — Work  necessary 
to  health  of  body — Work  improves  condition  of  mind — 
Civilization  based  on  work — All  work  honorable — Work 
a  blessing,  not  a  curse. 


Contents  1 1 

CHAPTER  XXI 

PAGE 

The  Habit  of  Industry ISl 

Industry  necessary  to  accomplishment — The  use  of  odd 
moments — Cultivating  a  liking  for  being  busy — Doing  vs. 
being — Contributions  of  the  industrious  and  the  idle  to 
society — Idler  shall  not  eat  the  bread  of  the  worker. 

CHAPTER  XXII 

Devotion  to  a  Calling 156 

Change  of  vocation  undesirable — Love  for  one's  work — 
Duties  connected  with  a  calling — Examples  of  devotion 
to  calling. 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

Enthusiasm  in  Work 161 

The  impetus  of  enthusiasm — The  development  of  enthu- 
siasm— Taking  the  drudgery  out  of  work — Infusing  in- 
dustry into  others. 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

Efficiency  in  Work 165 

Kinds  of  efficiency — Need  of  efficiency — Plan  time — Or- 
ganizing activities — Mechanical  aids  to  efficiency. 

CHAPTER  XXV 

Qualities  of  Good  Work 171 

Must  be  honest — Must  be  accurate — Must  be  rapid — Must 
be  up-to-date — Dependable  vs.  non-dependable  work — 
Work  should  be  unselfish. 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

Need  of  Avocations  and  Recreation         177 

What  an  avocation  is — Desirable  types  of  avocation — 
Need  of  play  and  rest — Desirable  types  of  recreation — 
Proper  combining  of  work  and  play. 


1 2  Contents 

CHAPTER  XXVII 

PAGE 

Cooperative  Work         183 

Man  cannot  always  work  alone — Reasons  for  coopera- 
tion— Doing  good  team  work — Cooperation  in  the  family — 
Cooperation  in  the  community. 

CHAPTER  XXVIII 

Success  in  Life's  Work 190 

Standards  of  success — Personal  development — Contribu- 
tions to  the  vocation — Contribution  to  mankind — Joy  and 
happiness  in  work — Actual  accomplishments. 


PART  I 
THE  VOCATIONS 


*' Blessed  is  he  that  has  found  his  work!     Let  him 
ask  no  other  blessedness.^^ — Carlyle. 

^^ A  parent  who  does  not  teach  his  child  a  trade 
teaches  him  to  be  a  thief. ^^ — Brahmanical  Scriptures. 


The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 


CJiAPTER  I 


THE    NEED    OF   VOCATIONS 


Undivided  Work.  —  In  the  days  when  men's 
activities  were  not  complex  as  they  now  are, 
it  was  not  difficult  for  a  single  individual  to  do 
any  of  the  work  necessary  to  provide  comfort  for 
himself  and  those  dependent  on  him.  The  people 
who  lived  in  northern  and  central  Europe  fifteen 
hundred  or  two  thousand  years  ago  were  simple  in 
their  lives;  they  had  no  large  cities,  but  lived  in 
small  communities  or  as  families  scattered  over  the 
land.  Every  man  could  hunt,  till  the  soil,  build  a 
house,  or  do  whatever  else  that  contributed  to  his 
welfare.  Specialization  was  not  necessary  since 
there  was  no  great  competition,  and  people  could 
live  almost  independent  of  one  another.  Under 
these  conditions  it  was  a  matter  of  pride  that  a  man 
could  do  anything,  and  a  person  who  knew  how  to 
do  but  one  thing  was  held  in  contempt. 

This  condition   is  found  to-day  in  many  of  the 

9 


10  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

less  civilized  countries  of  the  world.  There  is  little 
difference  in  the  work  done  by  the  various  mem- 
bers of  an  Indian  village  existing  in  its  native  state; 
about  the  only  division  of  labor  is  based  on  sex  or 
age.  Certain  kinds  of  hard  work  are  considered 
beneath  the  dignity  of  the  men,  and  must  be  done 
by  the  women. 

Modern  Society  Complex. — The  numerous  inven- 
tions made  during  the  last  century  have  absolutely 
revolutionized  methods  of  living,  especially  in  cen- 
ters of  population.  With  the  utilization  of  steam 
as  power,  it  became  possible  to  travel  in  a  few  days 
distances  that  had  previously  required  months;  and 
the  telegraph  and  telephone  have  entirely  changed 
methods  of  communication.  Modern  machinery 
renders  easy  tasks  that  were  utterly  impossible  when 
hand  labor  was  used.  The  discoveries  made  in  the 
fields  of  physics,  chemistry,  and  biology  have  com- 
pletely changed  most  of  the  old  industries,  and  have 
made  possible  many  new  ones.  These  discoveries 
have  also  changed  the  methods  of  living,  of  pre- 
serving health,  and  of  fighting  diseases. 

Under  modern  conditions  more  people  can  enjoy 
the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  life  than  formerly. 
Education  is  much  more  general  and  the  average  in- 
dividual has  greater  opportunity  to  travel  and  to 
learn  than  ever  before  in  the  history  of  the  world. 

The  Division  of  Labor. — This  complex  condition 
has  made  necessary  the  division  of  labor.     One  man 


The  Need  of  Vocations  11 

can  no  longer  do  all  the  kinds  of  work  that  are  to 
be  done  in  a  single  community;  specialists  must  be 
developed.  Where  great  competition  is  encoun- 
tered, division  of  labor  reaches  its  highest  point.  In 
a  small  village  a  man  may  transact  a  number  of 
kinds  of  business.  He  may  keep  the  postoffice;  his 
business  may  include  merchandising  and  banking; 
and  he  may  also  run  a  farm.  As  the  volume  of  trade 
increases  and  competition  becomes  greater,  he  must 
eliminate  certain  phases  of  his  business  and  pay 
greater  attention  to  others.  He  may  drop  the 
postoffice,  then  the  bank  and  confine  himself  to 
selling  merchandise;  later,  he  may  even  need  to  di- 
vide his  store  and  specialize  on  drugs,  shoes,  gro- 
ceries^ or  dry  goods. 

^''^The  jack-of-all  trades  is  usually  not  a  prosperous 
individual.  It  is  better  for  him  to  centralize  his 
ability  rather  than  to  spread  his  energies  over  too 
wide  a  field.  One  workman  said  he  could  make 
anything  but  a  living.  This  is  often  the  case  where 
a  tradesman  tries  to  do  a  little  work  in  every  trade 
without  being  master  of  any.  There  may  have  been, 
and  probably  still  is,  a  demand  for  a  few  individuals 
who  are  handy  at  all  kinds  of  jobs,  but  such  per- 
sons as  a  rule  receive  only  scant  pay. 

There  are  at  least  three  good  reasons  for  a  di- 
vision of  labor.  First,  much  greater  proficiency 
can  be  obtained  if  a  person  studies  thoroughly  one 
subject,  or  does  one  kind  of  work.     The  individual 


12  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

who  endeavors  to  do  legal  work,  practise  medicine, 
run  a  farm,  sell  merchandise  and  build  his  own 
house  would  probably  know  but  little  about  doing 
any  one  of  them.  In  these  days  so  much  is  known 
about  each  business  and  profession  that  a  person 
finds  difficulty  in  mastering  one  of  them  without 
trying  to  learn  all  about  a  number.  A  second  rea- 
son for  dividing  the  work  of  the  world  is  that  peo- 
ple differ  in  their  dispositions  and  natural  abilities. 
Some  are  suited  to  do  one  kind  of  work,  while  others 
can  do  something  else  better.  One  is  gifted  in  music 
or  art,  another  takes  naturally  to  business,  while 
a  third  is  interested  in  machinery.  Thus,  by  divid- 
ing the  activities  each  man  may  do  the  work  for 
which  he  is  best  suited.  The  fact  that  a  person 
can  spend  his  time  more  economically  when  not 
trying  to  do  too  many  kinds  of  work  may  be  con- 
sidered a  third  reason  for  a  division  of  labor.  Even 
if  all  had  the  same  natural  ability  and  training, 
it  would  still  be  advisable  to  divide  the  occupations. 
A  person  who  spent  a  few  hours  working  in  a  field, 
a  few  more  working  in  a  factory,  and  the  rest  of 
the  day  handling  money  in  a  bank,  would  waste 
most  of  his  energy  in  changing  from  one  thing  to 
the  other.  It  is  better,  therefore,  to  have  the  work 
of  men  divided  into  groups,  in  order  that  each  per- 
son may  have  a  vocation,  or  life's  work,  at  which 
he  spends  the  greater  part  of  his  working  hours. 
"The  man  of  to-day,"  says  Edward  Bok,  in  his 


The  Need  of  Vocations  13 

lecture  entitled  "keys  to  success,"  "who  has  to 
do  with  the  employment  of  men  witnesses  no  sadder 
sight  than  the  procession  of  unemployed  men 
that  are  exemplary  in  life,  have  some  general  intel- 
ligence, are  respectably  honest  and  frequently  of 
good  social  position,  and  yet  who  can  get  only 
menial,  routine,  poorly-paid  positions.  The  reason 
for  this  is  that  they  have  no  definite  knowledge,  no 
special  experience.  They  can  do  'almost  anything,' 
they  say,  which  really  means  that  they  can  do  noth- 
ing. The  successful  man  of  to-day  is  he  who  knows 
how  to  do  one  thing  better  than  most  other  men 
can  do  it." 

Dangers  of  Over  specialization. — A  danger  may 
be  found  in  dividing  work  to  such  an  extent  that 
men  become  mere  machines.  Especially  is  this  the 
case  in  manufacturing  establishments,  where  each 
person  has  just  one  thing  to  do  hour  after  hour, 
day  after  day,  and  year  after  year.  His  work  may 
be  the  turning  of  a  lever  on  some  machine,  or  it 
may  be  the  finishing  of  some  part  of  the  commer- 
cial article. 

While  high  specialization  leads  to  great  skill,  it 
may  not  be  the  best  thing  for  an  individual,  as  mere 
routine  work  done  year  after  year  tends  to  make 
one  narrow  in  his  view  and  non-sympathetic  with 
his  fellows.  Where  one  is  compelled  to  do  the 
same  work  continually,  he  should  take  up  some 
avocation  during  his  spare  time.     He  is  not  justi- 


14  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

fied  in  doing  any  kind  of  work  that  will  make  of  him 
a  mere  beast  of  burden,  and  he  cannot  afford  to  lose 
sympathy  with  those  doing  work  different  from  his 
own.  In  justice  to  himself  he  should  keep  in  touch 
with  other  men's  work,  as  well  as  becoming  a  master 
in  his  own  vocation. 

Persons  who  have  been  trained  to  do  but  one 
thing,  and  who  are  ignorant  of  every  other  kind  of 
work,  may  find  themselves  greatly  handicapped  when 
forced  to  leave  their  chosen  field.  The  scholar 
who  knew  nothing  of  practical  affairs  would  find  it 
difficult  to  make  a  living  if  compelled  to  give  up 
his  books  on  account  of  failing  eyesight.  The  old 
saying  that  a  person  should  know  a  little  about 
everything  and  everything  about  some  one  thing  is 
probably  very  near  the  truth. 


CHAPTER  II 

CLASSIFICATION    OF   MAN's    ACTIVITIES 

Industrial  Changes. — ^Any  classification  that  can  be 
made  of  the  work  of  mankind  must  be  somewhat 
temporary  since  there  is  a  constant  shift  and  read- 
justment of  the  entire  order  of  business.  New  indus- 
tries spring  up  and  old  ones  are  discontinued.  At 
one  time  a  certain  profession  will  be  in  great  de- 
mand, while  in  a  few  years  the  need  for  it  may  be 
considerably  lessened. 

At  present  the  relative  number  of  people  engaged 
in  the  various  kinds  of  work  is  entirely  different 
from  what  it  was  a  century  ago.  The  building  of 
railroads  and  steamship  lines  has  completely  trans- 
formed industrial  conditions  in  almost  every  part  of 
the  world.  With  the  invention  of  better  farm  ma- 
chinery and  the  discovery  of  the  principles  of  scien- 
tific agriculture,  it  is  not  necessary  for  so  great  a 
percentage  of  the  people  to  spend  their  time  pro- 
ducing the  food  required  by  mankind  as  it  formerly 
was.  When  the  land  was  tilled  with  a  forked  stick 
plow,  and  when  all  planting,  harvesting,  and  thresh- 

15 


16  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

ing  had  to  be  done  by  hand,  a  person  could  produce 
only  a  fraction  of  what  can  now  be  produced  when 
steam  power,  operating  large  machines,  is  made  to 
do  practically  all  the  work. 

With  the  discovery  of  methods  of  producing  in- 
digo artificially,  the  dye  industry  was  transferred 
from  agriculture  to  manufacturing.  The  invention 
of  the  telegraph  and  the  telephone  has  furnished  a 
new  occupation  for  hundreds  of  thousands  of  Peo- 
ple. Even  with  the  comparatively  advanced  stage 
of  science  and  invention  of  to-day,  it  is  probable  that 
during  the  next  century  almost  a  complete  change 
will  occur  in  many  phases  of  the  work  of  mankind. 

Methods  of  Classifying  Voactions. — The  group- 
ing of  vocations  may  be  done  from  so  many  stand- 
points that  it  is  difficult  to  get  an  entirely  satisfactory 
classification.  Such  terms  as  "the  professions,"  "the 
trades,"  etc.,  have  been  considerably  used  but  they 
are  often  misleading. 

Work  is  often  grouped  as  physical  or  mental,  de- 
pending on  whether  the  body  or  the  mind  has  to 
put  forth  the  greater  effort.  Most  vocations  call 
for  the  use  of  both  physical  and  mental  energy, 
but  the  relative  amount  of  each  varies.  The  amount 
of  work  done  by  the  coal  miner  will  depend  largely 
on  his  physical  strength  and  how  well  his  muscles 
are  trained.  The  writing  done  by  the  author,  on 
the  other  hand,  demands  great  mental  activity  with 
comparatively  little  muscular  exertion. 


Classification  of  Man^s  Activities  17 

A  lack  of  sympathy  often  exists  between  those 
working  with  their  hands  and  those  working  with 
their  heads.  Persons  doing  physical  labor  some- 
times think  those  engaged  in  sedentary  occupations 
do  not  work  at  all.  On  the  other  hand,  physical 
work  is  sometimes  looked  down  on  by  those  engaged 
in  the  more  intellectual  pursuits.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  both  types  of  work  require  energy,  and  they 
are  both  necessary  to  the  well-being  of  mankind. 
It  is  probable,  however,  that  ability  to  do  good  men- 
tal work  is  more  rare  than  that  to  do  manual  labor, 
and  by  the  law  of  supply  and  demand  it  brings 
greater  remuneration. 

Many  people  are  satisfied  to  be  mere  "hewers 
of  wood  and  drawers  of  water"  rather  than  to  put 
forth  the  extra  effort  necessary  to  prepare  them- 
selves for  the  more  difficult  tasks  of  life;  as  a  re- 
sult, there  is  great  competition  for  the  work  of 
"hewing  and  drawing"  with  a  consequent  relatively 
low  compensation. 

Vocations  are  sometimes  classified  according  to 
the  amount  of  training  required  in  preparation.  In 
order  for  a  person  to  begin  work  as  a  chemist  or 
surgeon,  considerable  preparation  is  necessary, 
while  there  are  some  vocations  that  can  be  taken  up 
with  comparatively  little  special  training.  The 
amount  of  capital  required  is  often  used  as  a  basis 
for  classification.  Banking,  farming,  merchandising, 
and   railroading  all  require  considerable  money  in 


18  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

addition  to  training.  Teaching,  law,  medicine,  and 
the  trades  can  be  practised  with  very  little  capital  in 
addition  to  ability  to  do  the  right  kind  of  work. 

The  various  activities  of  man  are  grouped  ac- 
cording to  whether  they  are  directly  or  indirectly 
productive.  Agriculture  furnishes  food  and  cloth- 
ing, while  teaching  is  more  indirect  in  its  benefits 
to  man.  Some  people  are  prone  to  look  with  dis- 
favor on  any  occupation  that  is  not  a  primary  pro- 
ducer; but  it  is  just  as  necessary  in  fishing  to  have 
the  line  connecting  the  hook  with  the  hand  as  to 
have  the  hook  which  does  the  real  catching. 

The  classification  of  vocations  according  to  their 
effect  on  the  worker  is  one  that  should  be  given 
considerable  attention,  particularly  by  those  who 
are  choosing  a  life's  work;  some  occupations  un- 
dermine the  health,  and  others  are  known  not  to 
improve  the  morals.  Careful  consideration  should 
be  given  to  these  questions  in  making  a  study  of 
vocations. 

Too  often  in  the  minds  of  young  people  voca- 
tions are  classified  entirely  on  the  basis  of  the  im- 
mediate returns  in  money.  Due  attention  is  not 
paid  to  the  ultimate  effects  on  the  welfare  and  hap- 
piness of  the  individual  or  to  the  service  that  can 
be  rendered.  The  "soft  snap"  jobs  that  pay  well 
are  in  demand  regardless  of  their  desirability  as  a 
life's  work. 


Classification  of  Man's  Activities  19 

Various  Methods  of  Getting  a  Living. — ^The  work 
done  by  people  is  usually  directly  or  indirectly  con- 
nected with  the  earning  of  a  livelihood.  It  is  rare 
for  a  person  to  spend  the  greater  part  of  his  time 
in  activities  that  do  not  contribute  to  his  means  of 
satisfying  the  material  wants  of  himself  and  those 
dependent  on  him. 

Professor  Carver  has  made  the  following  classi- 
fication of  ways  of  getting  a  living: 


I.     Uneconomical. 

A.  Destructive. 

1.  War. 

2.  Piracy. 

3.  Plunder. 

4.  Swindling. 

5.  Counterfeiting. 

6.  Adulteration  of  Goods. 

7.  Monopolizing. 

B.  Neutral. 

1.  Marrying  Wealth. 

2.  Inheriting  Wealth. 

3.  Benefiting  through  a  rise  in  land 

values. 


20  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

II.     Economical. 

A.  Primary. 

1.  Farming. 

2.  Mining. 

3.  Hunting. 

4.  Fishing. 

5.  Lumbering. 

B.  Secondary  Industries. 

1.  Manufacturing. 

2.  Transporting. 

3.  Storing. 

4.  Merchandising. 

C.  Personal  or  Professional  Service. 

1.  Healing. 

2.  Teaching. 

3.  Inspiring. 

4.  Governing. 

5.  Amusing. 

Parsons  classified  the  industries  into  the  follow- 
ing general  groups: 

1.  Agencies  and  Office  Work. 

2.  Agricultural. 


Classification  of  Man^s  Activities  21 

3.  Artistic. 

4.  Commercial. 

5.  Domestic  and  Personal  Service. 

6.  Fishing. 

7.  Manufacturing. 

8.  Mechanical  Building  and  Construction. 

9.  Professional  and  Semi-professional. 
10.  Miscellaneous  industries. 

Number  Engaged  in  Various  Pursuits. — There 
were  in  the  United  States  in  1910,  according  to  the 
thirteenth  census,  38,167,336  persons  ten  years  and 
over  engaged  in  the  various  occupations.  Of  these, 
12,659,203,  or  about  one-third,  were  following  agri- 
cultural pursuits. 

In  the  group  classed  under  professional  service 
there  were  1,663,569  persons.  Some  of  the  im- 
portant divisions  of  this  group  were: 

Teachers 599,237 

Physicians  and  surgeons 151,132 

Musicians  and  teachers  of  music.     139,310 

Clergymen 118,018 

Lawyers 1 14,704 

Civil    mining    engineers,    and    sur- 
veyors        58,963 

Artists,    sculptors,    and    art    teach- 
ers       34,104 

Actors 28,297 


22  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

There  were  3,772,174  persons  engaged  in  domes- 
tic and  personal  service,  and  1,737,053  engaged  in 
clerical  occupations,  including  bookkeepers,  type- 
writers, etc. 

In  the  group  classed  as  manufacturing  and  me- 
chanical industries,  there  were  10,658,881  persons 
engaged;  there  were  2,637,671  engaged  in  trans- 
portation activities,  and  3,614,670  in  trade. 

These  figures  show  the  great  majority  of  work- 
ers to  be  engaged  in  agriculture,  manufacturing  and 
the  mechanical  industries,  and  commerce,  with  only 
about  4  per  cent,  in  what  is  called  professional 
service.  Most  of  the  young  men  of  the  country 
will,  therefore,  have  to  find  employment  in  one  of 
the  major  groups. 


CHAPTER  III 


AGRICULTURE 


Definition. — Agriculture  may  be  defined  as  the 
art,  the  science,  and  the  business  of  producing  plants 
and  animals  for  economic  purposes.  It  is  an  art, 
since  the  successful  doing  of  farm  work  requires 
skill  and  practise.  A  person  who  has  never  done 
this  kind  of  work  is  very  awkward  indeed  when  he 
makes  the  first  attempt.  The  boy  who  is  raised 
on  a  farm  acquires  so  naturally  the  knack  of  milk- 
ing cows,  handling  horses,  plowing,  and  irrigating, 
that  he  considers  these  things  to  need  no  particular 
skill.  It  is  only  necessary,  however,  to  see  the  dif- 
ficulty with  which  farm  work  is  done  by  an  unprac- 
tised person  to  realize  that  good  farming  is  an  art. 

Modern  agriculture  is  a  science,  because  the  best 
methods  cannot  be  followed  without  understanding 
the  scientific  principles  underlying  the  operations 
on  the  farm.  In  the  old  days  when  but  little  was 
known  about  the  laws  governing  the  growth  of 
plants  and  animals,  and  when  the  real  function  of 
the  soil  was  not  understood,  farming  was  largely 
a  matter  of  tradition,  the  reasons  for  tilling  the  soil 

23 


24  The  Young  Man  ^nd  His  Vocation 

or  handling  crops  in  a  certain  manner  not  being 
known.  Books  on  agriculture  did  not  attempt  to 
explain  principles,  but  merely  laid  down  rules.  Un- 
der such  conditions,  there  was  but  little  in  agricul- 
ture that  could  be  called  "science."  With  the 
newer  discoveries,  however,  the  reason  assumed  as 
much  importance  as  the  operation,  till  the  present- 
day  farmer  wants  to  know  "the  why"  for  everything 
he  does.  Under  these  conditions  it  becomes  impos- 
sible for  the  farmer  who  works  by  rule  alone  to 
compete  successfully. 

Farming  is  primarily  a  business,  since  its  chief 
purpose  is  the  making  of  a  living.  A  few  men 
may  be  interested  in  agriculture  just  as  a  pastime, 
but  the  great  majority  of  those  who  till  the  soil 
do  it  as  a  means  of  gaining  a  livelihood.  Consider- 
able effort  is  being  made  the  last  few  years  to  place 
farming  on  a  thorough  business  basis.  Cost  ac- 
counting is  being  applied  to  the  various  farm  en- 
terprises in  order  to  eliminate  the  ones  giving  small- 
est returns,  and  greater  care  is  being  given  to  buy- 
ing supplies  and  to  selling  products. 

Divisions  of  Agriculture. — ^Agriculture  has  many 
branches,  but  it  is  usually  divided  into  three  main 
classes:  animal  husbandry,  which  deals  with  the 
various  branches  of  the  livestock  industry;  agron- 
omy, which  deals  with  the  production  of  field  crops 
and  the  tillage  of  the  soil;  and  horticulture,  which 
treats  of  fruits,  vegetable  gardens,  and  flowers. 


Agriculture  25 


A 


This  classification  is  not  used  in  practical  farm- 
ing, but  is  made  to  simplify  the  study  of  agriculture. 
Almost  every  farm  combines  the  three  classes.  Even 
if  a  farmer  is  specializing  in  livestock,  he  raises 
crops  to  feed  them,  and  he  usually  has  a  few  trees 
and  shrubs  and  a  garden. 

High  specialization  in  farming  rarely  pays  ex- 
cept under  special  conditions,  since  it  is  much  easier 
to  use  farm  labor,  horses,  and  machinery  economi- 
cally with  diversified,  than  with  specialized  farming. 

Personal  Qualities  Desirable. — The  statement  has 
been  made  that  any  one  who  can  do  nothing  else 
may  become  a  farmer.  This  may  have  been  at  one 
time,  but  it  certainly  will  not  hold  to-day.  The  prob- 
lems that  arise  in  connection  with  the  management 
of  a  farm  are  so  numerous  and  varied  that  the  high- 
est type  of  intelligence  is  required  to  properly  solve 
them.  There  are  so  many  changing  conditions  of 
soil,  weather,  crops,  animals,  and  markets  that  good 
judgment  must  be  constantly  exercised.  This  calls 
for  a  high  type  of  native  intelligence  as  well  as  ex- 
perience and  training.  A  person  with  less  than  aver- 
age ability  can  find  much  better  employment  in  a  city 
working  on  the  streets,  or  in  a  factory  where  the 
tasks  are  simple  and  supervision  close,  than  on  a 
farm  where  each  man  has  to  do  various  kinds  of 
work  without  being  watched.  There  is  no  perma- 
nent work  on  the  farm  where  ability  of  a  low  order 
can  be  used  profitably,  even  at  a  small  wage. 


26  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

A  back-tothe-land  movement  which  has  for  its 
aim  the  placing  of  inferior  people  from  the  city 
slums  on  the  land  and  making  farmers  of  them 
is  not  well  founded  and  can  never  be  successful. 
These  people  are  better  off  in  the  city  where  they 
can  find  employment  commensurate  with  their 
ability. 

To  be  a  farmer  a  person  should  be  a  naturalist 
by  instinct;  he  should  enjoy  being  in  the  open;  and 
should  find  pleasure  in  tilling  the  soil,  handling  ani- 
mals, and  watching  crops  grow.  If  he  can  find  no 
interest  in  these  things;  if  the  flowers,  the  birds,  the 
green  grass,  and  the  babbling  brook  do  not  appeal 
to  him,  and  he  wants  to  get  away  from  them  all,  he 
would  better  choose  some  vocation  other  than  farm- 
ing. 

In  this  day  of  machinery  the  farmer  should  be, 
by  nature,  mechanical.  He  should  not  mind  han- 
dling machinery,  and  should  know  how  to  locate 
trouble  in  a  machine  and  have  the  ability  to  fix  it. 

A  farmer  should  have  a  strong  body  and  be  able 
to  do  hard  physical  work.  But  few  farms  require 
the  services  of  an  overseer  who  does  no  manual 
labor.  This,  taken  with  the  fact  that  farm  hands 
do  much  more  efficient  work  if  the  manager  works 
with  them,  makes  it  almost  imperative  for  every 
farmer  to  have  a  robust  physical  constitution. 

Since  the  income  of  the  farm  is  made  by  selling 
its  products,  and  since  there  are  many  business  trans- 


Agriculture  27 

actions  necessary  in  purchasing  supplies,  hiring  help, 
and  doing  other  things,  the  farmer  must  have  the 
ability  to  conduct  business  affairs.  A  man  may  have 
exceptional  ability  in  raising  crops  and  managing 
animals,  but  if  he  is  unable  to  transact  business  he 
will  be  a  failure  as  a  farmer.  Such  a  person  should 
engage  in  a  vocation  where  he  can  receive  definite 
pay  for  his  services,  in  order  that  he  may  have  the 
minimum  of  business  to  transact. 

Preparation  Necessary  for  Agriculture. — Farm- 
ing can  be  practised  with  as  little  technical  training  as 
any  vocation;  but  there  are  few  vocations  where 
proper  training  will  pay  higher  dividends.  It  used 
to  be  said  that  the  only  place  to  learn  farming  was 
on  the  farm.  This  was  doubtless  true  when  the 
entire  knowledge  concerning  agriculture  was  couched 
in  a  few  dogmatic  rules.  The  art  of  farming  must 
be  learned  by  practise  on  the  farm;  but  the  science 
of  agriculture,  which  treats  of  the  principles  under- 
lying farm  practise,  is  learned  in  the  laboratory  and 
from  books.  Much  can  also  be  learned  of  business 
methods  away  from  the  farm;  hence,  it  is  not  true 
that  the  farm  is  the  only  place  to  learn  agriculture. 

For  more  than  half  a  century  special  courses  in 
agriculture  have  been  given  in  many  of  the  schools. 
These  courses  were  at  first  confined  almost  entirely 
to  special  technical  institutions,  but  in  later  years 
other  schools  have  introduced  agricultural  instruc- 
tion.    During  the  last  decade  agriculture  has  been 


28  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

introduced  into  many  of  the  primary  and  secondary 
schools  in  rural  districts. 

As  far  as  possible  every  prospective  farmer 
should  take  some  school  work  in  agriculture;  in 
fact,  it  would  be  very  desirable  for  him  to  have  a 
complete  agricultural  course.  In  this  course  he 
should  get  a  good  general  knowledge  of  the  sci- 
ences, besides  taking  the  more  practical  side  of  the 
work.  He  could  specialize  in  his  studies  on  the 
branch  of  agriculture  he  expects  to  follow,  in  addi- 
tion to  getting  a  broad  view  of  the  entire  subject. 

A  study  was  made  by  Warren  in  New  York  State 
to  see  the  effect  of  education  on  the  profits  made 
by  the  farmers.  Those  who  had  attended  only  the 
district  school  made,  on  the  average,  a  labor  in- 
come of  3318  a  year;  those  who  had  attended  high 
school  had  a  labor  income  of  3622;  while  those 
who  had  attended  more  than  high  school  secured 
a  labor  income  of  3847,  or  nearly  three  times  as 
much  as  those  who  had  received  no  education  above 
the  grades. 

While  it  may  appear  to  the  casual  observer  that 
no  particular  preparation  is  necessary  to  become  a 
farmer,  experience  has  demonstrated  the  great  ad- 
vantage of  a  preliminary  training. 

The  Effect  on  the  Individual. — Agriculture,  like 
every  other  vocation,  has  its  definite  effects  on  those 
who  follow  it.  Since  the  farmer  does  not  have  the 
opportunity   to  associate  with  his  fellows  so  much 


Agriculture  29 

as  do  those  engaged  in  some  of  the  other  occupa- 
tions, his  life  is,  of  necessity,  somewhat  solitary. 
As  a  result,  he  may  appear  at  a  disadvantage  in  a 
social  way;  he  is  primarily  a  doer  rather  than  a 
talker. 

His  contact  with  the  stern  realities  of  nature 
makes  him  conservative  and  careful,  develops  in 
him  good  judgment  in  practical  matters.  He  does 
not  always  keep  up  on  the  latest  thought  of  the 
world;  but  he  usually  develops  a  philosophy  of  life 
that  is  wholesome  and  optimistic. 

Farm  life  tends  to  develop  the  sterner  virtues, 
such  as  honesty,  frugality,  temperance,  and  morality, 
even  if  it  does  not  always  stimulate  brilliancy.  The 
real  is  held  in  high  esteem,  while  the  superficial  is 
looked  on  with  disdain. 

The  open-air  life  of  the  farmer  gives  him  a  vig- 
orous constitution.  His  ailments  are  usually  due  to 
exposure,  overwork,  or  poor  sanitary  conditions 
rather  than  to  lack  of  vigor. 

One  of  the  desirable  things  about  farming  is 
that  in  many  respects  the  farm  offers  a  good  place 
in  which  to  rear  a  family.  Aside  from  the  isola- 
tion and  the  difficulty  of  getting  good  schools,  con- 
ditions are  almost  ideal.  There  is  an  opportunity 
for  a  good  healthy  growth  of  the  child's  body,  a 
freedom  from  temptations  encountered  in  city 
streets,  and  a  chance  for  him  to  learn  how  to  work 
by  his  parent's  side. 


30  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

Compensation  in  Agriculture. — When  measured 
in  actual  money,  the  earnings  of  the  men  engaged 
in  agriculture  are  usually  low  in  comparison  with 
salaries  sometimes  paid  in  cities.  The  annual  labor 
income  of  the  average  farmer  in  the  United  States 
is  less  than  31,000,  whereas  a  salary  of  this  amount 
would  be  considered  rather  low  for  many  kinds  of 
work.  Notwithstanding  this  apparently  low  income, 
the  farmer  is  probably  more  independent  financially 
than  the  workers  in  any  other  field.  His  expenses 
are  low  and  he  has  a  splendid  opportunity  to  invest 
his  savings  where  they  will  bring  good  returns.  The 
farm  furnishes  much  of  the  family  living,  and  the 
demand  for  money  is  less  than  where  everything  has 
to  be  purchased  from  the  outside. 

Wages  of  farm  hands  seem  to  be  low,  but  the 
farm  laborer  who  is  careful  can  save  a  snug  sum 
each  year.  This  condition  is  well  illustrated  by  two 
brothers  who  started  out  together.  One  went  to 
the  city  and  secured  work  as  clerk  in  a  store  where 
he  finally  received  $7S  a  month.  The  other  found 
employment  on  a  farm  at  340  a  month  and  board. 
In  their  correspondence  the  one  who  was  earning 
the  larger  amount  called  the  other  a  fool  for  work- 
ing for  such  low  wagefe  and  tried  to  entice  him  to 
the  city,  where  he  could  get  pay  that  was  worth 
while.  At  the  end  of  two  years  both  boys  returned 
home  to  spend  Christmas.  The  store  clerk  bor- 
rowed 350  of  his  farmer  brother  to  pay  for  a  dress 


Agriculture  31 

suit  for  which  he  had  gone  in  debt.  He  had  saved 
nothing  from  his  wages.  The  other  brother,  be- 
sides having  the  $S0  to  lend,  had  bought  a  number 
of  heifer  calves  which  would  soon  be  cows;  he  had 
invested  3300  in  land,  and,  in  addition,  had  money 
in  the  bank. 

Very  few  fortunes  are  made  by  farming,  but  it 
is  usually  possible  to  get  a  good  living  and  save 
something  in  addition.  A  few  men  have  made  large 
sums  of  money  in  agriculture;  many  simply  eke  out 
a  miserable  existence;  but  the  great  majority  of 
those  who  till  the  soil  live  in  comfort  and  are,  in 
a  large  measure,  independent. 

Opportunities  in  Agriculture. — Every  grade  of 
farmer  may  be  found  from  the  one  producing  but 
a  few  acres  of  crops,  of  inferior  quality,  for  which 
he  receives  scarcely  enough  to  keep  body  and  soul 
together,  to  the  one  who  produces  the  best  crops 
and  animals  for  which  he  receives  thousands  of  dol- 
lars each  year.  The  class  to  which  any  individual 
belongs  depends  on  his  ability  and  on  conditions. 
Some  could  not  succeed  at  farming  even  under  the 
most  favorable  conditions;  likewise  there  are  cir- 
cumstances in  which  farming  is  practised  where  no 
one  could  succeed. 

In  general,  the  opportunities  offered  by  agricul- 
ture are  good.  The  young  man  of  energy  and  good 
judgment  can  find  a  field  for  the  exercise  of  all  his 
abilities.     There  is  a  chance  for  him  to  serve  his 


32  The  Young  Man  and  His  location 

fellows  by  developing  better  strains  of  plants  or  ani- 
mals and  by  improving  agricultural  methods.  He 
can  use  his  executive  ability  to  good  advantage  in 
organizing  his  business,  and  he  can  use  all  his  studi- 
ous tendencies  in  learning  the  scientific  principles  un- 
derlying his  vocation. 

The  young  man  who  is  in  great  haste  to  leave 
the  farm  because  it  offers  no  opportunities,  is  either 
ignorant  of  the  real  possibilities  or  he  has  some  un- 
warranted prejudice.  Nojparticular^^inducements 
are  offered  by  the  farm  to  the  man  of  low  intelli- 
gence who  has  been  raised  in  city  slums,  but  the  in- 
telligent young  man  of  the  country|who|isijwilIing 
to  learn  modern  methods,  need  not  look  with  disdain 
on  the  opportunities  offered  by  agriculture. 

How  to  Begin  Farming. — ^The  method  of  getting 
started  in  the  farming  business  depends  entirely  on 
conditions.  In  a  new  region  where  there  is  plenty 
of  land,  all  that  the  young  man  has  to  do  is  to  go 
out  and  take  up  a  farm  from  the  public  domain,  or 
purchase  it  at  a  low  price,  usually  on  long-time 
payments.  Localities  where  land  can  be  obtained 
so  easily  are  rapidly  decreasing,  and  it  is  each  year 
becoming  more  difficult  for  a  man  without  means 
to  begin  farming. 

Many  farmers  with  families  have  looked  ahead 
and  have  secured  sufficient  land  to  give  each  son  a 
farm.  Sometimes  there  is  but  one  son  in  the  fam- 
ily who  wishes  to  be  a  farmer,  the  others  prefer- 


Agriculiurg  33 

ring  to  follow  some  other  vocation.  In  both  of  these 
cases  it  is  easy  to  follow  agriculture,  since  the  land 
is  inherited. 

Farming  is  a  business  that  cannot  be  conducted 
without  capital;  hence,  it  is  difficult  for  a  young  man 
who  does  not  inherit  a  farm  to  begin  without  some 
kind  of  help.  One  way  to  get  started  is  to  rent 
land,  and  gradually  work  into  ownership.  Another 
way  is  for  the  young  man  to  teach  school  or  do 
some  other  work  until  he  has  saved  sufficient  money 
to  begin  farming. 

If  a  man  has  had  no  experience  on  a  farm,  it 
is  usually  unwise  for  him  to  attempt  to  run  a  farm 
of  his  own  at  once  even  though  he  may  have  studied 
agriculture  in  school.  Many  things  about  farming 
must  be  acquired  by  experience,  and  this  experience 
can  be  gained  much  more  cheaply  as  a  hired  farm 
hand  than  as  a  manager.  The  most  important  work 
of  the  prospective  farmer  is  for  him  to  get  an  edu- 
cation; then  after  having  some  practical  farm  ex- 
perience, he  is  ready  to  begin  operations  on  his  own 
farm. 


CHAPTER  IV 


THE    TRADES 


Definition. — Many  kinds  of  work  can  be  classed 
under  the  general  title  of  the  trades.  It  is  im- 
possible to  draw  sharp  lines,  since  the  trades  merge 
into  the  work  of  the  artist,  designer,  and  manu- 
facturer on  the  one  side  and  into  the  field  of  the 
unskilled  laborer  on  the  other.  The  work  of  the 
tradesman  requires  special  skill  and  cannot  be  well 
done  without  a  certain  amount  of  training.  This 
work  may  include  the  activities  of  the  carpenter, 
mason,  painter,  plasterer,  plumber,  paper  hanger, 
etc.,  in  building;  or  that  of  the  blacksmith,  machin- 
ist, shoemaker,  printer,  tailor,  etc.,  in  manufacturing 
and  other  industries. 

Importance  of  the  Trades. — The  importance  of 
the  man  who  does  the  skilled  work  of  the  world 
cannot  be  overestimated.  About  one-fifth  of  all 
those  employed  in  gainful  occupations  in  the  United 
States  are  working  at  what  may  be  classed  as  trades. 
This  portion  of  the  world's  workers  put  into  opera- 
tion the  discoveries  that  contribute  to  the  conveni- 
ences and  necessities  of  modern  life. 

34 


The  Trades  35 

The  machinist  has,  with  the  aid  of  his  machinery, 
completely  revolutionized  every  field  of  human  en- 
deavor. He  has  entirely  changed  the  methods  of 
agriculture,  manufacturing,  mining,  and  all  of  the 
other  industries. 

Thus  activities  of  modern  society  are  based  on 
the  efficient  service  of  a  vast  army  of  men  and 
women  who  are  skilled  in  the  various  arts  and  crafts 
of  the  day.  All  of  the  industries  must  depend  on 
trained  men  to  do  the  work  necessary  for  their 
operation. 

Personal  Qualities  for  Tradesmen. — Many  quali- 
ties are  desirable  in  those  entering  the  field  of  the 
skilled  workman.  This  field  requires  a  strong, 
healthy  body  and  demands  of  those  entering  it  that 
they  shall  not  be  afraid  of  hard  work.  The  trades- 
man should  be  able  to  get  along  with  other  work- 
men and  be  willing  to  be  directed  by  others;  he 
should  have  intelligence  and  originality  in  order 
that  he  may  be  more  than  a  mere  machine  in  his 
work. 

Each  trade  makes  its  own  special  demands.  For 
example,  a  machinist  should  naturally  like  to  work 
with  machinery  and  take  an  interest  in  its  opera- 
tions. He  should  be  a  close  observer  and  should 
have  a  good  idea  of  form,  size,  and  weight,  as 
well  as  being  constructive  in  his  nature. 

The  interest  manifested  by  different  individuals  in 
the  mechanical  pursuits  is  illustrated  by  two  brothers, 


36  The   Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

who,  though  raised  together,  were  not  at  all  alike 
in  their  tastes.  One  knew  all  about  each  machine 
on  the  place,  and  he  noticed  closely  every  new  me- 
chanical device.  During  his  spare  hours  he  was 
making  things,  and  he  spent  a  great  deal  of  time 
taking  machines  apart  and  putting  them  together 
again.  The  other  brother  knew  practically  noth- 
ing about  machines  and  cared  less.  He  was  in- 
terested in  livestock  and  would  never  let  a  horse  or 
cow  pass  unobserved.  He  was  helpless  if  anything 
went  wrong  with  any  simple  machine  he  was  using. 
He  would  ride  a  number  of  miles  for  help  rather 
than  investigate  the  trouble.  As  these  brothers  were 
traveling  through  the  country,  the  train  stopped  at 
a  small  station  where  stock  were  being  loaded  into 
the  cars.  The  brothers  got  off  the  train  to  walk 
for  a  few  minutes.  The  one  walked  forward  to 
the  engine  and  spent  his  time  looking  it  over,  ex- 
amining wheels,  cogs,  and  pistons;  the  other  spent 
all  his  time  looking  at  the  animals  that  were  being 
loaded.  The  one  had  in  him  the  qualities  of  a  ma- 
chinist; the  other  would  probably  have  found  it  very 
difficult  to  make  a  success  in  the  use  of  any  kind  of 
tool. 

Learning  a  Trade. — A  generation  or  two  ago 
practically  all  trades  were  learned  by  apprentice- 
ship. Boys  were  put  to  work  with  a  master  of  some 
trade,  and  there  they  had  to  remain  for  as  long  as 
was  necessary  to  make  them  skilled.     Usually  a  cer- 


The  Trades  37 

tain  number  of  years  were  specified  in  the  contract. 
The  apprentice  received  a  very  low  wage  during 
part  or  all  of  the  period  of  learning. 

During  the  last  few  years  industrial  schools  have 
been  established  and  many  young  men  are  taking 
advantage  of  them  to  learn  trades.  The  time  re- 
quired in  schools  is  usually  much  shorter  than  that, 
required  in  the  old  system  of  apprenticeship,  since 
the  student  spends  all  his  time  learning  new  things 
and  does  not  attempt  to  earn  money  while  studying. 
It  is  often  necessary  for  graduates  of  industrial 
schools  to  have  some  practical  experience  after 
leaving  school  before  they  become  master  workmen. 

One  of  the  best  ways  for  a  young  man  to  learn 
a  trade  to-day  is  to  attend  a  school  where  instruc- 
tion is  given  in  the  desired  subject.  He  can  acquire 
some  knowledge  of  the  trade  during  the  school  year 
while  getting  his  general  education;  then,  during  va- 
cations, he  can  work  with  a  practical  tradesman.  In 
this  way  he  should  be  able  to  go  out  as  a  workman 
by  the  time  he  has  finished  his  schooling. 

It  is  impossible  to  find  schools  for  all  the  trades; 
hence,  in  many  cases,  it  is  necessary  to  learn  them 
by  working  with  some  practical  tradesman.  The 
disadvantage  of  this  method  is  the  length  of  time 
required.  In  a  particular  shop  most  of  the  work 
may  be  of  but  one  or  two  kinds,  which  does  not  give 
the  young  man  the  desirable  breadth  of  knowledge 
concerning  the  trade  he  is  learning. 


38  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

In  this  day  of  hurry  and  bustle  the  young  man 
may  become  impatient  to  get  into  practise;  but  the 
master  workman  cannot  be  made  without  long  ex- 
perience. On  learning  a  trade,  thoroughness  should 
be  placed  first.  No  young  man  should  be  satisfied 
with  anything  short  of  mastery. 

Effects  on  Individual. — Working  at  the  trades 
usually  promotes  regularity  of  habits  and  stability 
of  character.  Honesty  and  precision  should  natu- 
rally grow  out  of  the  work.  As  there  is  a  tendency 
on  the  part  of  the  individual  to  become  dependent  on 
others  after  having  his  labors  directed  for  a  time, 
he  may  lose  a  part  of  his  initiative. 

There  is  a  danger  that  the  tradesman  will  be- 
come somewhat  narrow  mentally,  although  it  does 
not  follow  that  he  will  need  to  be  so.  His  work 
confines  him  in  a  restricted  field,  and  in  order  to 
keep  his  sympathies  broad,  he  should  do  consider- 
able general  reading,  and  should  associate  with 
those  engaged  in  other  pursuits. 

Some  trades,  if  followed  too  closely,  tend  to  make 
the  body  misshapen.  Exercise  of  the  right  kind 
may  largely  overcome  this.  Some  trades  are  con- 
ducive to  good  health,  while  others  have  the  oppo- 
site effect. 

The  Tradesman's  Pay. — ^The  wages  received  by 
skilled  workmen  are  decidedly  in  advance  of  those 
paid  to  common  laborers.  The  class  of  work  and 
the    hours    are    usually    also    more    desirable.     The 


The  Trades  39 

amount  received  for  work  in  the  different  trades  and 
under  different  conditions  varies  so  much  that  it  is 
useless  to  attempt  to  give  exact  figures.  The  say- 
ing that  "a  man  who  has  a  trade  has  a  fortune" 
is  true  in  the  sense  that  he  can  always  make  a  good 
living  under  normal  conditions.  There  is  always 
a  demand  for  men  who  can  do  special  work  particu- 
larly well,  even  when  common  laborers  are  out  of 
employment. 

If  the  man  with  a  trade  can  make  two  dollars 
a  day  more  than  the  unskilled  worker,  he  will  make 
six  hundred  dollars  a  year  more  if  there  are  three 
hundred  working  days.  Six  hundred  dollars  is  in- 
terest on  twelve  thousand  dollars  at  five  per  cent. 
This  means  that  the  trade  would  be  worth  twelve 
thousand  dollars  to  its  possessor.  While  great 
fortunes  are  probably  never  made  in  the  ordinary 
practise  of  a  trade,  a  good  honest  income  is  fairly 
certain. 

"An  ordinary  clerk,"  writes  Wingate,  "is  not  so 
well  paid  as  a  first-class  mechanic.  He  has  far  less 
independence,  and  not  half  so  good  prospects.  The 
mechanic's  work  is  more  healthful;  he  is  less  likely 
to  lose  his  place  in  dull  times,  is  only  discharged 
from  necessity,  and  has  equal  chances  for  promo- 
tion. The  average  clerk  does  not  require  special 
ability;  but  the  mechanic  must  be  intelligent,  and, 
if  he  is  industrious  and  observing,  he  improves  daily. 
A  mechanic  with  a  kit  of  tools  and  enough  money  to 


40  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

hire  a  basement  or  a  loft  may  start  on  his  own 
account  or  he  may  work  at  home.  If  he  has  en- 
ergy and  friends  he  will  have  little  trouble  to  get 
along.  I  believe  that  more  mechanics  than  clerks 
own  their  homes;  and,  when  they  die,  they  leave 
their  families  better  provided  for." 

Opportunities  Open  to  Tradesmen. — ^The  oppor- 
tunities open  to  the  man  with  a  trade  are  largely  de- 
pendent on  his  energy  and  ambition.  He  may  be 
satisfied  to  do  just  an  ordinary  grade  of  work  and 
receive  medium  pay,  or  he  may  be  determined  to 
rise  to  the  top  of  his  trade  and  command  the  high- 
est compensation.  In  almost  all  of  the  trades  there 
is  an  opportunity  for  advancement.  The  carpenter 
may,  through  study  and  industry,  become  a  contrac- 
tor and  later  an  architect.  The  boy  who  learns  to 
be  a  printer  may  become  a  compositor,  an  editor, 
or  an  author. 

It  is  within  the  trade  itself  and  not  in  the  shift- 
ing to  another  business  that  the  great  majority 
should  look  for  their  advancement.  It  is  a  great 
thing  to  be  able  to  do  the  important  work  of  the 
world  with  one's  own  hands,  and  especially  to  do 
some  one  thing  better  than  any  one  else.  Those 
who  do  the  work  are  worthy  of  the  highest  respect 
and  reward;  and  to  be  a  master  workman  in  some 
field  is  an  ambition  worthy  to  burn  in  the  heart 
of  the  most  promising  young  man. 

Infinite  opportunities  are  open  to  the  mechanic 


The   Trades  41 

in  developing  new  machines  to  meet  the  demands 
of  an  ever-advancing  civilization;  and  there  is  origi- 
nal work  growing  out  of  most  of  the  trades  that 
calls  for  the  highest  type  of  inventive  genius. 

What  Trade  to  Learn. — ^The  conditions  in  which 
a  person  finds  himself,  the  law  of  supply  and  de- 
mand, his  natural  likings  and  ability,  and  a  number 
of  other  things  must  help  him  to  determine  the  trade 
to  learn.  Most  of  the  ordinary  trades  are  in  de- 
mand in  the  well-settled  communities;  but  in  a  newly 
settled  region  it  would  be  unwise  to  learn  a  trade 
for  which  there  would  be  no  call,  unless  a  person 
were  willing  to  change  his  home.  It  would  prob- 
ably be  unwise  to  take  up  a  trade  that  is  already 
overcrowded.  There  is  always  room  at  the  top, 
but  it  is  more  difficult  to  get  to  the  top  under  some 
conditions  than  under  others. 

Probably  the  greatest  thing  to  consider  in  de- 
ciding on  a  trade  is  a  person's  tastes  and  natural 
ability.  Benjamin  Franklin,  telling  of  how  his  father 
wanted  to  help  him,  said,  "He  therefore  sometimes 
took  me  to  walk  with  him  and  see  joiners,  brick- 
layers, turners,  braziers,  etc.,  at  their  work,  that  he 
might  observe  my  inclination,  and  endeavor  to  fix 
it  on  some  trade  or  other  on  land."  In  deciding  on 
a  trade,  it  is  a  good  thing  to  follow  this  method. 
Examine  all  that  are  available  and  if  other  things 
are  favorable,  take  the  one  toward  which  you  are 
naturally  inclined. 


CHAPTER  V 


BUSINESS 


Scope  of  Business. — Business  may  be  not  only  a 
vocation  in  itself,  but  it  necessarily  enters  into  every 
other  vocation  and  industry  in  the  world.  Agricul- 
ture, mining,  manufacturing,  law,  medicine,  engi- 
neering, teaching,  etc.,  all  have  their  business  phases; 
and  those  who  engage  in  these  various  occupations 
must  know  something  of  its  transactions.  So  im- 
portant has  commerce  become  to  the  welfare  of 
mankind  that  the  transaction  of  its  affairs  has  called 
for  the  entire  time  of  a  great  body  of  workers. 
It  has  been  found  necessary  to  organize  commerce 
into  its  various  branches  for  convenience  in  operat- 
ing. As  a  result,  a  great  many  business  vocations 
have  been  developed. 

It  is  impossible  for  a  nation  to  make  any  great 
advances  in  civilization  if  it  devotes  itself  entirely 
to  simple  production  without  the  idea  of  exchange. 
It  would  be  unwise  to  produce  all  the  commodities 
required  by  a  community  right  at  home.  Each  re- 
gion,  by  its   special  conditions,  can  produce  some 

42 


Business  43 

things  better  than  others.  While  the  agencies  of 
business  are  probably  not  so  essential  as  agriculture 
in  supplying  the  absolute  necessities  of  man,  the 
development  of  civilization  and  the  supplying  of 
modern  comforts  would  be  impossible  without  com- 
merce. 

Honesty  in  Business. — In  letters  from  a  great 
many  prominent  business  men  regarding  desirable 
qualities  of  those  engaged  in  business,  practically 
every  correspondent  placed  honesty  at  the  head  of 
the  list.  This  was  not  a  matter  of  chance.  The 
answer  rested  on  a  basic  principle  that  has  been 
proved  by  centuries  of  experience.  Honesty  is,  if 
possible,  more  necessary  in  business  than  in  many  of 
the  other  walks  of  life,  since  commerce  is  based 
primarily  on  confidence. 

Many  false  schemes  are  forced  onto  the  business 
world,  and  many  unprincipled  men  engage  in  com- 
merce; but  business  in  the  main  must  be  conducted 
"on  the  square"  or  it  will  not  be  successful.  Some 
people  have  the  idea  that  if  they  are  cunning  they 
do  not  need  to  be  honest,  but  their  deception  is  usu- 
ally discovered.  This  is  illustrated  by  the  story  of 
two  boys  who  lived  in  a  small  town.  Both  were 
very  anxious  to  get  a  position  in  the  town  store, 
as  it  offered  splendid  opportunities  for  advancement. 
The  merchant  had  both  of  the  boys  help  him  once 
in  a  while,  but  did  not  decide  which  one  to  employ 
regularly.     He  gave  each  of  them  a  book,  which  he 


44  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

said  he  would  be  glad  to  have  read.  After  a  week 
or  two  he  asked  the  boys  if  they  had  read  the  book. 
One  said  he  had  only  found  time  to  read  one  chap- 
ter. The  other  boy,  wanting  to  create  a  good  im- 
pression, said  he  had  read  his  book  through  a  num- 
ber of  times.  He  praised  it  in  the  highest  terms, 
and  said  that  each  evening  before  going  to  bed  he 
spent  some  time  studying  its  contents.  This  of 
course  pleased  the  merchant,  and  he  thought  he  was 
ready  to  decide  on  his  man.  He  went  to  the  home 
of  the  boy  to  acquaint  his  parents  with  the  oppor- 
tunities he  was  going  to  offer  their  son,  and  was 
shown  into  the  parlor  to  wait  a  few  minutes.  Here 
he  found  lying  on  the  table  the  book  he  had  given. 
To  his  great  astonishment  the  leaves  of  the  book 
had  never  been  cut.  When  the  parents  came  in 
he  simply  told  them  he  would  never  be  able  to  use 
their  son  again. 

The  young  man  who  expects  to  enter  a  business 
career  should  have  as  the  most  deeply-set  corner 
stone  in  his  entire  foundation,  a  determination  to 
be  absolutely  honest.  If  he  docs  this,  the  structufe 
he  may  rear  will  be  safe  when  the  storms  of  life 
come.  The  author  was  very  much  impressed  on 
one  occasion  by  a  conversation  between  the  mother 
of  a  young  man  and  his  employer.  In  talking  about 
how  the  young  man  was  getting  along,  the  employer 
said:  "Madam,  your  son  is  absolutely  honest  in  all 
he  does.     I   would   trust  everything   I   have  in  the 


Business  45 

world  to  his  truthfulness."  Tears  filled  the  mother's 
eyes  as  she  said,  "Your  words  make  me  the  most 
happy  woman  in  all  the  world." 

Training  for  Business. — 'There  are  a  number  of 
ways  in  which  a  young  man  may  prepare  himself 
for  a  business  career.  It  is  indispensable  for  him 
to  have  at  least  a  general  education,  in  order  that 
he  may  be  able  to  meet  others  intelligently.  A  high 
school  and  college  training  are  becoming  more  and 
more  necessary.  Many  men  who  have  had  but  lit- 
tle school  training  have  been  very  successful  in  busi- 
ness; but  as  competition  becomes  keener,  this  is  more 
difficult  to  do.  The  few  extra  years  spent  in  get- 
ting an  education  will  bring  big  returns  when  the 
time  comes  to  face  the  stern  realities  of  life. 

In  learning  the  technical  side  of  business,  there 
is  probably  no  better  way  than  to  work  up  in  the 
business  itself.  Many  successful  men  have  started 
as  office  boy  and  filled  the  various  positions  up  to 
manager  or  superintendent.  In  some  kinds  of  busi- 
ness it  takes  nearly  a  lifetime  of  struggle  from 
department  to  department  before  the  top  is  reached. 

In  this  day  of  schools  for  everything,  the  busi- 
ness college  has  developed  along  very  practical  lines, 
and  the  young  man  who  expects  to  make  some  phase 
of  commerce  his  vocation  would  do  well  to  take  a 
course  in  a  business  college.  This  would  not  alto- 
gether do  away  with  the  necessity  for  him  to  work 
up,  but  it  would  put  him  in  a  position  to  advance 


46  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

much  more  rapidly  than  if  he  had  to  learn  every 
principle  through  the  slow  school  of  experience. 

Each  kind  of  business  in  addition  to  general  train- 
ing has  special  demands  which  it  makes  of  those 
preparing  to  enter  it.  In  railroading,  for  example, 
there  are  numerous  departments;  and  the  training 
is  different  for  each.  Some,  indeed,  are  entirely  out 
of  the  realm  of  business,  but  come  under  the  tech- 
nical subjects. 

Getting  a  Start. — Those  who  are  pessimistic  often 
say  that  it  is  impossible  to  get  into  anything  these 
days  without  a  pull.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  world 
has  never  been  more  willing  than  to-day  to  have  a 
person  pass  on  his  merits.  It  is  true  that  friends 
are  a  good  thing  for  any  person  to  have,  and  they 
may  help  him  to  get  an  opportunity  to  prove  him- 
self; but  unless  he  can  "deliver  the  goods,"  all  the 
pull  in  the  world  will  not  make  him  a  success. 

Some  young  men  are  continually  talking  about 
"getting  in  right"  and  other  things  that  have  noth- 
ing to  do  with  real  merit.  If  they  spend  the  time 
in  real  preparation  that  they  waste  in  trying  to  "line 
things  up,"  they  would  not  need  to  worry  so  much 
about  hard  times  and  the  unkindness  of  the  world. 

A  young  man  was  very  anxious  to  become  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Cornell  rowing  crew.  He  tried  to  use 
his  friends  to  get  a  "pull  for  him,"  thinking  this 
would  do  more  than  tiresome  practise.  When  the 
matter  came  to  the  attention  of  coach  Courtney, 


Business  47 

who  had  not  lost  a  race  for  years,  he  simply  re- 
marked that  the  only  pull  a  man  could  get  on  the 
Cornell  rowing  crew  was  the  pull  he  had  at  the 
end  of  the  oar. 

In  business  the  only  "pull"  that  amounts  to  any- 
thing is  the  work  that  can  be  done.  The  employer 
is  not  so  much  interested  in  family  connections,  the 
people  one  has  met,  or  the  books  one  has  read,  as 
in  ability  to  do  work.  In  getting  a  start  in  business, 
the  principal  thing  is  to  give  one's  best  efforts  to 
the  work.  One  should  select  the  department  he 
likes  best,  then  prepare  himself  thoroughly  and 
the  rest  will  be  easy. 

The  young  man  with  a  commercial  training  should 
rarely  attempt  to  go  into  business  for  himself  with- 
out first  having  practical  experience  with  a  good 
business  man.  It  is  usually  better  after  learning 
the  theory  of  business  to  enter  the  employ  of  the 
right  kind  of  firm  even  at  a  low  salary  in  order  to 
become  familiar  with  the  little  practical  details 
than  to  plunge  blindly  into  something  which  is  un- 
familiar. 

The  young  man  who  feels  himself  above  starting 
at  the  bottom  of  a  business  and  working  himself 
up  will  probably  be  a  long  time  reaching  the  top 
of  the  ladder.  The  spirit  of  the  true  young  Ameri- 
can can  be  expressed  something  like  this:  "All  I 
want  is  a  chance  to  show  what  I  can  do;  I  ask 
for  no  favors  nor  special  privileges,  but  am  anxious 


48  The   Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

to  get  into  work  and  do  my  best.  Place  me  at  the 
bottom  if  you  will,  but  watch  me  climb." 

Working  Up  in  the  Business. — Some  young  men 
seem  to  have  an  idea  that  their  chief  aim  in  life 
should  be  to  get  a  job.  After  securing  employment 
and  having  their  names  entered  on  the  pay  roll,  they 
consider  that  the  reason  for  special  effort  has  been 
removed,  and  that  they  should  do  as  little  as  pos- 
sible and  still  hold  the  job.  They  are  like  the 
woman  who  was  a  very  poor  housekeeper.  She 
made  no  effort  to  keep  herself  tidy  or  to  make  home 
pleasant  for  her  husband.  Another  lady  one  day 
reproved  her  for  the  course  she  was  taking,  where- 
upon she  promptly  replied:  "Why,  I  am  married 
and  have  got  my  man.  I  don't  want  to  catch  an- 
other man  so  why  should  I  fix  up.?"  She  had  the 
idea  that  the  mere  getting  of  a  husband  was  of  more 
importance  than  the  kind  of  a  wife  she  made. 

The  young  man  who  is  not  ambitious  to  work 
up,  and  who  is  not  trying  to  improve  is  not  worthy 
the  position  he  now  holds,  no  matter  how  humble 
it  may  be. 

Room  at  the  Top. — The  old  and  much-used  say- 
ing that  there  is  always  room  at  the  top  has  been 
constantly  borne  out  by  experience.  It  is  the  man 
at  the  foot  of  the  ladder  who  is  always  in  danger 
of  being  washed  from  his  place  by  every  wave  of 
misfortune,  but  the  man  higher  up  stands  secure. 
He  can  watch  the  waves  dash,  but  he  is  above  their 


Business  49 

reach.  It  is  the  man  knowing  but  little  of  the  busi- 
ness and  receiving  low  wages  who  is  laid  oflF  when 
the  time  of  retrenchment  comes. 

In  the  various  business  activities  there  is  keen 
competition  for  supremacy,  and  only  those  who  can 
meet  this  competition  are  able  to  survive.  There 
is  no  place  for  the  weakling  or  the  man  who  will 
not  try.  The  man  who  is  full  of  energy,  ability, 
honesty,  and  tact  is  the  one  who  is  wanted.  Such 
a  man  can  always  find  a  place;  the  world  is  anxious 
to  pay  well  for  his  services.  The  man  who  takes 
a  position  should  try  to  be  the  most  useful  man  in 
the  employ  of  the  firm.  If  he  does  this,  he  will 
not  need  to  worry  about  his  position  or  salary. 

Getting  on  with  People. — In  commerce  it  is  neces- 
sary to  deal  constantly  with  others.  The  ability  to 
get  along  well  with  associates  is  an  important  ele- 
ment of  success.  The  merchant  who  is  cross  and 
surly  with  his  customers  drives  them  away  even 
though  his  goods  are  sold  at  a  bargain.  The  travel- 
ing salesman  who  is  able  to  make  friends  is  the  one 
who  sells  the  most  goods. 

In  order  to  get  the  best  results  the  employer 
should  have  tact  in  handling  his  men.  If  he  has 
trouble  with  employees,  it  will  be  impossible  for 
him  to  get  the  most  out  of  them.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  he  can  gain  their  confidence  and  get  them 
interested  in  the  work,  they  will  do  almost  every- 
thing to  help  his  business  grow. 


50  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

Cost  Accounting  and  Scientific  Management  in 
Business. — ^This  is  a  great  day  for  efficiency  in  busi- 
ness. Every  process  is  being  subjected  to  the  most 
careful  study  by  improved  methods  of  cost  accounting 
and  scientific  management.  In  many  of  the  old-time 
business  enterprises,  the  only  object  of  bookkeeping 
was  to  keep  account  of  the  bills  receivable  and  bills 
payable.  There  was  no  thought  of  turning  the  light 
inward  to  see  what  trouble  there  might  be  right  at 
home.  Now,  every  progressive  business  man  studies 
his  methods  to  see  if  they  are  the  best  that  are  pos- 
sible. The  merchant  keeps  a  cost  account  with  each 
department  of  his  establishment  in  order  to  deter- 
mine just  what  profits  are  derived  from  each.  The 
railroad,  the  bank,  the  insurance  company,  and  the 
other  branches  of  commerce  know  exactly  how  they 
stand;  this  results  in  a  great  saving. 

Every  man  who  expects  to  follow  business  for 
a  livelihood  should  acquaint  himself  with  methods 
of  cost  accounting  and  with  managing  affairs  in  the 
most  efficient  manner.  He  is  then  in  a  position  to 
do  his  work  intelligently  instead  of  merely  feeling 
his  way  in  the  dark. 


CHAPTER  VI 


BRANCHES    OF    COMMERCE 


Merchandising. — Selling  goods  is  one  of  the 
very  oldest  forms  of  commerce.  With  the  begin- 
ning of  organized  society  there  was  need  for  barter 
in  the  commodities  of  life.  At  first,  sales  were  prob- 
ably confined  to  a  few  simple  articles  of  food  and 
clothing;  but  to-day  all  the  material  wants  of  a 
complex  civilization  may  be  purchased  in  the  market. 
Merchandising  has  become  a  highly  specialized  busi- 
ness, organized  into  many  departments.  The  coun- 
try store,  built  at  the  cross-roads  and  carried  on 
as  a  side  issue,  is  very  simple  and  may  be  conducted 
without  much  regard  to  business  principles.  The 
modern  specialized  or  department  store,  on  the 
other  hand,  requires  very  high  ability  in  conducting 
its  aifairs. 

Some  people  who  make  a  practise  of  complain- 
ing at  everything  would  have  us  believe  that  mer- 
chants are  an  unnecessary  burden  on  society  and 
that  they  are  living  in  luxury  on  wealth  extorted 
from  the  needy.  This  is  a  very  narrow  point  of 
view.     Those  who   sell   goods    are   as   necessary   to 

51 


52  The   Young  Man  and  His   Vocation 

our  advanced  civilization  as  those  who  produce 
them.  They  enable  the  producer  to  dispose  of  his 
products  and  the  consumer  to  obtain  them. 

In  order  for  a  person  to  be  a  successful  merchant 
he  should  enjoy  barter  and  trade.  If  he  does  not 
like  to  deal  with  his  fellows  in  a  business  way  he 
should  select  some  other  occupation.  The  merchant 
should  be  pleasing  in  his  personality  and  convincing 
in  his  address;  he  should  be  able  to  make  and  keep 
friends,  and  should  enjoy  mingling  with  people;  he 
should  be  neat  and  orderly,  and  willing  to  put  an 
unlimited  amount  of  energy  into  his  work. 

The  compensation  obtained  in  selling  goods  de- 
pends largely  on  the  individual;  but  the  conditions 
under  which  he  works  will  in  part  determine  his 
success.  Very  many  of  those  who  enter  this  field 
fail,  and  the  profits  are  probably  no  larger  in  pro- 
portion to  the  capital  invested  and  the  risk  than 
in  other  kinds  of  business.  One  of  the  chief  causes 
of  failure  is  the  carrying  of  too  large  a  stock  of 
goods,  which  soon  becomes  "hard  stock."  A  com- 
paratively small  amount  of  capital  tied  up  in  goods 
that  can  be  turned  over  rapidly  makes  the  ideal  con- 
dition. 

Persons  of  low  ability  often  find  employment  in 
stores,  but  they  rarely  get  very  far  along  in  the 
business.  Considerable  intelligence  and  study  and 
a  very  great  deal  of  hard  work  are  necessary  to 
success  in  merchandising.     A  certain  amount  of  capi- 


Branches  of  Commerce  53 

tal,  either  of  one's  own  or  borrowed,  is  required. 

The  young  man  who  has  ambitions  to  become  a 
merchant  can  probably  do  no  better  than  to  get  a 
good  education  and  in  the  meantime  spend  his  va- 
cations in  the  right  kind  of  store.  After  having 
the  proper  education  and  practical  experience,  he 
may  be  in  a  position  to  enter  business  for  himself 
if  he  has  the  capital.  If  he  has  no  capital,  he  can 
often  work  with  a  good  firm,  where  he  may  become 
manager  and  finally  part,  or  entire,  owner.  Mer- 
chandising is  a  field  that  is  constantly  crowded,  but 
there  is  always  opportunity  for  the  right  kind  of 
man. 

Banking. — ^The  banking  business  is  one  that  is 
very  often  misunderstood.  The  "man  of  the  street" 
often  looks  on  the  banker  as  an  individual  of  un- 
limited wealth  whose  chief  work  consists  in  count- 
ing and  hoarding  gold.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
banker  is  a  trustee,  or  steward,  of  the  funds  of  other 
people.  He  takes  the  surplus  wealth  of  the  com- 
munity and  diverts  it  into  channels  where  it  can  be 
made  to  produce  other  wealth.  He  stands  in  the 
position  of  the  servant  who  was  given  the  talents. 
If  he  does  not  make  it  produce  he  is  like  the  sloth- 
ful servant  who  hid  his  lord's  money  in  the  earth. 

The  banker  does  not  prosper  without  work.  He 
must  keep  his  fingers  on  the  pulse  of  business  and 
must  be  keen  in  his  power  of  discernment.  He 
must  be  especially  cautious,  since  not  only  is  his  own 


54  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

property  at  stake,  but  the  savings  of  numerous  de- 
positors must  be  safeguarded.  This  carries  with 
it  a  great  responsibility  and  no  little  worry. 

In  order  to  be  a  good  banker,  a  person  must  have 
the  confidence  of  the  community.  He  should  live 
a  life  absolutely  clean  and  blameless,  so  that  his 
actions  can  in  no  way  lead  to  mistrust.  He  should 
be  systematic  and  orderly,  and  able  to  make  friends. 
He  must  be  willing  to  give  his  chief  energies  to  his 
business,  and  not  be  above  spending  extra  hours 
to  clear  off  the  day's  work  when  occasion  requires. 

The  banker  must  have  a  broad  insight  into  the 
different  phases  of  business,  for  his  success  depends 
largely  on  his  ability  to  judge  between  various  en- 
terprises. His  training  should  include  fundamental 
knowledge  of  finance,  economics,  law,  agriculture, 
and,  in  fact,  every  activity  of  man  in  any  way  con- 
nected with  business  transactions.  He  must  act  as 
an  adviser  alike  to  the  man  seeking  a  good  invest- 
ment, and  also  to  the  man  who  wants  capital  to 
develop  an  industry. 

The  banking  business  tends  to  make  those  en- 
gaged in  it  conservative,  exact,  less  optimistic,  less 
inclined  to  take  chances,  and  more  careful  in  giving 
judgment.  The  conditions  of  success  are  measured 
by  the  number  of  customers  of  the  bank,  and  the 
wisdom  with  which  their  affairs  are  handled.  One 
of  the  chief  aims  is  to  build  up  confidence. 

No  way  is  open  for  a  young  man  to  succeed  in 


Branches  of  Commerce  55 

banking  without  devoting  much  hard  work  to  learn- 
ing the  business  in  all  its  phases.  He  must  know 
the  grind  of  each  stage  of  the  work  and  must  not 
expect  to  become  cashier  or  president  without  hav- 
ing first  performed  the  humbler  tasks. 

Transportation  Activities. — In  primitive  times 
transportation  was  a  very  simple  matter;  but  with 
the  development  of  modern  railroads,  trolley  sys- 
tems, and  steamship  lines,  the  transfer  of  people 
and  goods  from  place  to  place  has  become  a  busi- 
ness of  gigantic  proportions.  Modern  commerce  de- 
pends for  its  existence  on  the  development  of  com- 
paratively cheap  transportation  rates.  When  sugar 
had  to  be  hauled  from  the  Missouri  River  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains  in  freight  wagons  the  trade  in 
sugar  in  the  latter  place  was  necessarily  very  lim- 
ited. When  people  had  to  depend  on  stage  coach 
and  sailing  boat  to  carry  them,  they  traveled  but 
little. 

In  railroading  alone  there  are  many  departments 
besides  those  classed  strictly  under  the  head  of 
business.  First,  there  is  the  work  of  the  civil  en- 
gineer who  lays  out  the  road  and  superintends  its 
construction.  Next,  there  is  the  industry  of  manu- 
facturing equipment.  After  the  road  is  in  full  opera- 
tion there  is  the  work  of  keeping  the  road-bed  and 
machinery  in  repair,  the  handling  of  the  trains 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  engineer  and  fireman 
as  well  as  the  conductor.     There  is  the  agent  who 


56  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

represents  the  company  at  the  various  stations. 
Finally  there  is  the  executive,  or,  more  strictly,  busi- 
ness phase  of  the  work,  with  its  numerous  depart- 
ments. 

The  boy  wishing  to  become  a  railroad  man  should 
first  decide  which  phase  of  the  service  he  desires  to 
enter.  If  he  wishes  to  become  a  locomotive  engi- 
neer, he  can  work  in  the  roundhouse,  through  the 
various  divisions  of  the  work  and  as  fireman,  till 
finally  he  is  prepared  to  stand  at  the  throttle.  Each 
division  has  its  regular  lines  of  promotion.  A  col- 
lege training  is  a  great  advantage  in  any  of  the 
departments,  and  promotion  is  more  rapid  with  the 
increased  ability  given  by  an  education. 

Since  transportation  systems  are  owned  by  corpo- 
rations rather  than  by  individuals,  the  railroad  man 
is  essentially  a  wage  earner  rather  than  the  man- 
ager of  his  own  business.  The  same  is  true  of  other 
transportation  activities. 

Insurance. — Many  kinds  of  insurance  have  grown 
up  in  the  last  few  years.  These  are  necessary  to 
lessen  risks  and  thereby  make  various  business  en- 
terprises more  substantial  and  better  able  to  obtain 
credit  at  reasonable  rates.  Those  who  decry  the 
existence  of  insurance  are  ignorant  of  modern  busi- 
ness methods. 

Life  and  fire  insurance  are  the  kinds  best  known 
by  the  average  person,  although  insurance  against 
accident,  hail,  and  loss  of  vessels  at  sea  are  all  being 


Branches  of  Commtrce  57 

better  understood  and  used  more  each  year.  It  is 
also  becoming  a  common  practise  to  insure  valuable 
animals. 

Insurance  companies  to  be  of  any  value  must 
have  large  resources  at  their  command.  Without 
millions  of  dollars  in  securities,  the  fire  insurance 
companies  would  not  be  able  to  make  good  at  the 
time  of  a  great  conflagration  like  that  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. Life  insurance  companies  would  be  made 
bankrupt  by  an  epidemic  of  disease  unless  they  had 
reserve  funds. 

This  great  amount  of  capital  makes  necessary  the 
combination  of  wealth  by  a  large  number  of  indi- 
viduals. Those  working  in  the  business,  therefore, 
are  usually  officers  or  agents  of  a  corporation  rather 
than  proprietors.  Little  capital  is  required  on  the 
part  of  the  agent,  but  success  demands  the  right 
kind  of  personality.  Competition  is  so  keen  between 
the  different  companies  that  only  a  small  percentage 
of  those  who  enter  the  field  as  agents  are  successful. 

The  three  important  steps  necessary  for  the  agent 
to  do  business  are,  first,  to  convince  the  prospec- 
tive customer  that  insurance  is  a  good  thing,  sec- 
ond, that  he  should  insure,  and  third,  that  the  com- 
pany represented  is  the  best  for  his  conditions.  The 
selling  of  insurance  calls  for  difi"erent  methods  than 
the  selling  of  commodities.  In  the  latter  case,  the 
main  point  is  to  show  that  the  article  offered  for 
sale  is  better  for  the  money  than  that  of  a  competi- 


58  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

tor;  while  with  insurance,  the  chief  difficulty  is  in 
creating  a  demand  for  it. 

The  work  of  managing  insurance  companies  calls 
for  a  high  grade  of  business  ability.  The  sums  of 
money  involved  are  so  large  that  a  comparatively 
small  error  in  making  investments  or  outlining  poli- 
cies would  result  in  great  losses.  Outside  of  hon- 
esty and  other  similar  virtues,  probably  the  chief 
requisite  for  success  in  the  insurance  business  is  ag- 
gressiveness. Customers  will  not  look  up  the  busi- 
ness, but  the  business  must  be  taken  to  them. 

Telegraph  and  Telephone. — The  development,  in 
the  last  few  years,  of  a  complete  web  of  telegraph 
and  telephone  wires  over  all  parts  of  the  civilized 
world  has  made  a  demand  for  a  great  army  of 
operators.  There  is  good  opportunity  for  employ- 
ment at  fair  wages,  and  the  chance  for  advance- 
ment both  in  the  technical  and  the  business  divisions 
is  good.  The  speed  and  convenience  of  communi- 
cation by  telegraph  and  telephone  will  probably  give 
these  great  industries  a  steady  growth  for  years  to 
come. 

There  are  schools  giving  training  in  methods  of 
operating  the  telegraph  and  the  telephone,  but  the 
most  common  method  of  learning  is  by  working  up 
in  a  practical  way.  A  training  in  the  fundamentals 
of  science  and  business  would  be  of  great  assistance 
to  any  one  expecting  to  become  a  specialist. 

Other    Business    Activities. — In    addition    to    the 


Branches  of  Commerce  59 

branches  of  commerce  already  discussed,  many- 
others  offer  fine  advantages  under  certain  conditions. 
The  operation  of  hotels,  boarding  houses,  restau- 
rants, etc.,  will  always  give  employment  to  a  great 
many  people.  In  all  of  these  the  closest  attention 
to  detail  is  necessary.  A  customer  is  likely  to  be 
lost  for  a  single  inattention,  regardless  of  any 
amount  of  previous  good  treatment.  Other  condi- 
tions of  success  are  courtesy,  affability,  and  industry. 
Dealers  in  real  estate,  brokers,  and  commission 
men  often  find  splendid  opportunities.  Success  in 
these  branches  of  business  depends  largely  on  the 
personality  and  industry  of  those  operating  them. 
The  man  who  has  the  right  kind  of  business  ability 
can  usually  make  a  success  in  any  branch  of  com- 
merce to  which  he  gives  his  undivided  attention. 


CHAPTER  VII 


MANUFACTURING 


Importance. — ^The  great  industries  of  the  day 
have  been  built  up  by  the  use  of  machinery  to  do 
work  that  was  once  done  by  hand.  Raw  materials 
of  the  mine  and  farm  have  been  so  cheaply  converted 
into  the  numerous  articles  of  commerce  that  people 
of  moderate  means  can  now  enjoy  comforts  that 
could  formerly  be  had  only  by  the  rich.  New  in- 
ventions in  manufacturing  have  absolutely  trans- 
formed the  industries  of  the  world  in  the  last  genera- 
tion. 

The  manufactured  articles  produced  in  the  United 
States  in  1900  were  worth  more  than  eight  billion 
dollars.  The  persons  engaged  in  manufacturing  and 
related  industries  numbered  more  than  seven  mil- 
lions. There  is  hardly  a  town  without  some  manu- 
facturing establishment,  and  many  communities  de- 
pend for  their  support  almost  entirely  on  factories. 

The  difference  in  the  methods  of  living  between 
the  savage  and  the  civilized  man  is  made  possible 
chiefly  by  the  use  of  manufactured  articles.  Cloth- 
ing,   house    furnishings,    and    food    are    made    from 

60 


Manufacturing  61 

raw  materials  into  articles  of  use  and  beauty.  The 
savage,  dressed  in  his  breechcloth  and  living  in  a 
cave,  may  be  surrounded  by  all  the  materials  used  by 
the  most  fashionably  dressed  lady  living  in  a  man- 
sion; but  in  the  one  case  the  material  is  in  the  raw 
state,  while  in  the  other,  it  has  been  worked  over 
to  make  it  more  useful. 

Kinds  of  Manufacturing. — The  industries  classed 
under  manufacturing  are  exceedingly  varied.  They 
include  the  making  of  all  kinds  of  building  materials, 
textiles,  clothing,  machinery,  furniture,  foods,  books, 
etc.  These  industries  are  often  localized  because 
of  easily  available  raw  materials,  power,  or  labor. 
The  manufacture  of  textiles  in  the  United  States 
has  been  confined  largely  to  a  few  cities  in  the  east- 
ern states;  many  of  the  important  iron  and  steel 
manufacturing  establishments  have  been  built  up 
around  Pittsburg. 

Advantages  of  Manufacturing  to  the  Community. 
— Manufacturing  establishments  are  usually  of 
great  advantage  to  the  community  in  which  they 
are  established.  A  steady  market  is  furnished  for 
raw  materials  and  employment  given  to  the  popula- 
tion. Money  is  kept  at  home  and  is  brought  in 
from  the  outside. 

Cache  Valley,  Utah,  was  for  years  considered  to 
have  fertile  soil  and  the  land  sold  at  a  good  price; 
but  when  two  beet  sugar  factories  and  a  number  of 
milk   condenseries    were   established    in    the   valley, 


62  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

land  practically  doubled  In  price  within  a  very  short 
time  and  the  general  prosperity  of  the  region  was 
considerably  increased.  The  establishment  of  such 
an  industry  as  a  canning  factory  in  a  region  has 
often  completely  transformed  it.  These  factories 
which  use  the  products  of  the  farm  are  particu- 
larly valuable  to  rural  communities,  although  they 
are  often  established  in  large  cities  where  labor  is 
available. 

Undesirable  Factory  Conditions. — In  some  of  the 
older  factory  communities  of  this  country  and  Eu- 
rope, conditions  have  been  far  from  ideal  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  workers.  Unsanitary  sur- 
roundings, long  hours,  and  low  wages  have  often 
kept  the  hands  down  to  a  miserable  existence.  Help- 
ful legislation,  labor  organizations,  improved  ma- 
chinery, and  a  number  of  other  forces  are  at  present 
working  to  correct  some  of  these  evils.  The  profit- 
sharing  system  adopted  by  a  number  of  manufactur- 
ing establishments  is  doing  considerable  to  increase 
the  efficiency  of  labor  and  to  raise  the  profits  of  the 
business.  These  will  react  to  the  benefit  of  the 
workers. 

Scientific  Management  in  Manufacturing. — The 
rapid  rise  of  the  United  States  in  the  production  of 
certain  manufactured  articles  is  due  largely  to  the 
adoption  of  the  most  up-to-date  methods  and  ma- 
chinery. Mardcn  tells  us  that  the  great  Pillsbury 
Flour  Mills  of  Minnesota  put  in  forty  thousand  dol- 


Manufacturing  63 

lars  worth  of  new  machinery,  but  it  was  no  sooner 
set  to  running  than  some  one  invented  a  better 
process.  The  proprietors  instantly  ripped  up  the 
new  and  bought  the  newest.  The  superintendent  of 
a  Massachusetts  factory  where  a  thousand  looms 
were  at  work  said  to  Josiah  Strong,  who  was  visit- 
ing, *'Do  you  see  that  machine  by  your  side.^  Well, 
the  one  that  stood  there  twelve  months  ago  has  been 
supplanted  three  times  during  the  year." 

In  manufacturing,  perhaps  more  than  in  any  other 
k'nd  of  human  endeavor,  it  is  necessary  scientifically 
to  examine  every  process  to  see  that  it  is  reduced  to 
the  greatest  possible  refinement.  All  unnecessary 
movements  and  waste  of  energy  must  be  eliminated. 
If  the  efficiency  of  one  thousand  hands  can  be  in- 
creased ten  per  cent,  by  improved  methods,  it  is 
the  same  as  saving  the  work  of  one  hundred  hands. 
This  soon  counts  up  in  money. 

During  Mr.  Carnegie's  active  days  in  manufac- 
turing steel  he  had  a  department  costing  eighty  thou- 
sand dollars  a  year  whose  sole  business  was  to  study 
the  workings  of  the  plant  with  a  view  to  improving 
its  operations.  This  department  did  not  add  a  dol- 
lar directly  to  the  earnings  of  the  business,  but  it 
enabled  Mr.  Carnegie  to  locate  weak  points,  the 
strengthening  of  which  greatly  increased  the  profits. 

The  Handling  of  Men. — ^The  ability  to  handle 
men  is  one  of  the  most  important  characteristics  of 
the   manufacturer  or   the   factory   foreman.     Some 


64  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

people  naturally  antagonize  those  with  whom  they 
work,  while  others  by  their  mere  presence  call  forth 
respect  and  confidence.  In  manufacturing,  the 
profits  are  made  on  the  work  of  the  hands;  hence, 
the  success  of  the  enterprise  will  depend  largely  on 
the  amount  each  can  accomplish. 

Many  different  methods  are  adopted  to  obtain  the 
cooperation  of  workers  and  to  increase  their  output. 
All  of  these  rest  for  their  success  not  so  much  on  set 
rules  as  on  the  energy  and  ingenuity  of  the  over- 
seers. Men,  when  considered  as  so  many  mere  ma- 
chines, will  not  give  their  best  service.  The  human 
side  of  them  must  be  appealed  to.  Even  the  igno- 
rant laborer  doing  the  most  mechanical  routine  work 
responds  readily  to  human  sympathy.  The  em- 
ployer or  foreman,  therefore,  who  wishes  success 
must  expect  to  deal  with  the  human  element  in  his 
employees  and  must  devote  his  own  attention  and 
sympathies  to  the  work  if  he  expects  their  energies  to 
be  utilized  efficiently. 

Desirable  Qualities  in  a  Manufacturer. — There 
are  so  many  grades  of  manufacturing  and  the  quali- 
ties for  these  so  diverse  that  it  is  impossible  to  out- 
line in  any  detail  what  the  manufacturer  should  know 
and  the  personal  qualities  he  should  possess.  '  The 
shoemaker  at  his  bench,  and  the  maker  of  the  most 
up-to-date  locomotive  are  both  manufacturers;  yet 
the  preparation  for  the  two  is  entirely  difi^erent. 

The  manufacturer  must  buy  the  raw  materials,  he 


Manufacturing  65 

must  work  them  over  into  the  desired  articles,  and 
must  find  a  market  for  his  products.  This  means 
that  he  must  have  business  ability  in  addition  to  tech- 
nical skill.  The  writer  once  knew  a  young  man  who 
was  an  exceptional  mechanical  genius.  He  devised 
and  successfully  made  a  number  of  useful  articles, 
but  he  could  not  make  the  business  of  manufacturing 
them  pay.  He  gave  his  entire  thought  to  the  tech- 
nical, and  as  a  result  the  business  ran  at  loose  ends 
and  became  insolvent.  He  failed  in  a  number  of 
similar  enterprises,  not  because  his  wares  could  not 
be  produced  at  a  profit,  but  because  he  had  no  abil- 
ity or  taste  for  the  business  side  of  the  work.  When 
his  creditors  finally  took  over  this  part  of  the  busi- 
ness, leaving  him  entirely  to  the  technical  phases, 
the  industry  was  put  on  its  feet  and  made  to  yield 
a  handsome  profit. 

The  manufacturer  should  have  a  broad  sympathy 
with  mankind;  he  should  have  courage  and  ability 
to  hold  firm  to  his  purposes;  he  should  be  loyal  to  his 
associates  as  well  as  honest  and  sincere  in  his  deal- 
ings with  them;  he  should  have  a  good  understand- 
ing of  business  principles;  and  should  know  the  tech- 
nical side  of  making  his  products. 

How  to  Become  a  Manufacturer. — ^The  young 
man  having  the  proper  personal  qualities  will  find 
some  phase  of  manufacturing  to  be  a  very  desirable 
vocation.  He  has  a  good  opportunity  to  use  orig- 
inality   and,    if  proper  judgment   is   exercised,   fair 


66  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

success  may  be  expected.  There  is  always  an  op- 
portunity to  work  up  in  some  business  that  is  already 
well  established,  and  it  is  often  possible  to  develop 
something  new. 

A  general  education  should  first  be  obtained. 
This  ought  to  be  followed  by  the  special  training 
required  in  the  industry  to  be  entered.  The  nat- 
ural sciences,  and  particularly  chemistry  and  physics, 
serve  as  an  important  foundation.  Every  book 
treating  of  the  subject  ought  to  be  read  and  studied. 
Too  often,  out-of-date  methods  are  followed  when 
a  little  study  would  show  improvements  that  could 
be  introduced  with  profit. 

The  would-be  manufacturer  must  not  be  afraid 
to  enter  the  business  at  the  bottom  and  work  up. 
Getting  into  some  good  establishment  and  gradually 
rising  as  ability  is  developed,  is  probably  the  best 
way  to  get  a  start.  There  is  nothing  particularly 
attractive  about  manufacturing  for  the  man  whose 
only  ambition  is  to  hold  down  a  ten-dollar-a-week 
job  and  who  does  not  care  to  work  up. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


ENGINEERING 


Kinds  of  Engineering. — Engineering  has  many 
divisions,  among  which  are: 

Military  Engineering, 
Civil  Engineering. 
Mechanical  Engineering. 
Electrical  Engineering. 
Mining  Engineering. 
Agricultural  Engineering. 
Chemical  Engineering. 

Each  of  these  major  divisions  may  again  be  sub- 
divided according  to  the  class  of  work  to  be  done. 

The  days  when  one  man  could  know  everything 
about  engineering  have  passed.  The  tendency  now 
is  to  specialize  on  some  branch  of  the  main  group. 

Importance  of  Engineering. — Practically  every 
field  of  human  endeavor  is  indebted  to  the  engi- 
neer, who  must  be  a  forerunner  of  civilization  in  a 
new  country  and  an  indispensable  aid  to  intensive 
construction  in  places  that  have  long  been  settled. 
"The  importance  of  this  profession,"  says  one  en- 

67 


68  The   You7}g  Man  and  His  Vocation 

gineer,  "is  realized  when  we  remember  that  it  has 
made  possible  the  modern  systems  of  travel  on  land 
and  water,  the  transformation  of  the  desert  waste 
throughout  the  world,  the  modern  means  of  com- 
munication by  mail,  telegraph,  and  telephone,  the 
building  of  homes,  the  sanitation  of  towns,  and  cities, 
and  the  lighting  of  homes,  streets,  and  public  build- 
ings." 

Desirable  Qualities  of  an  Engineer. — "The  engi- 
neering profession  requires  in  the  man  the  same 
character  which  is  so  essential  to  the  success  of  any 
one  following  other  vocatiorLs  of  life.  The  rules 
of  honesty,  loyalty,  perseverance,  self-denial,  etc., 
which  are  so  elementary,  and  at  the  same  time  so 
fundamental,  are  required  in  this  profession.  How- 
ever, personal  adaptation  for  the  work  is  probably 
more  essential  in  engineering  than  in  some  of  the 
other  vocations  of  life."  A  good  physique  and 
ability  to  do  hard  work  are  indispensable. 

One  prominent  engineer  has  the  following  to  say: 
"To  be  a  successful  engineer  requires:  1st,  ability 
to  meet  and  do  business  with  one's  fellowmen  in  a 
pleasing  way;  2nd,  the  possession  of  a  mind  that 
is  able  to  grasp  big  problems  and  to  prepare  satis- 
factory solutions  to  these  problems  quickly;  3rd, 
ability  to  hold  one's  temper  under  trying  conditions; 
and  4th,  willingness  and  ability  to  render  the  same 
courteous  treatment  to  the  individual  who  has  but 
little  business  to  do,  as  to  the  individual  having  big 


Engineering  69 

business  interests  that  need  attention."  An  engineer 
must  be  resourceful  and  able  to  meet  ail  kinds  of 
unexpected  emergencies.  In  his  work  he  is  con- 
stantly meeting  new  conditions,  and  he  must  find  a 
way  to  face  them. 

The  following  story  related  by  Boyles  late  of  the 
Iron  Age  and  retold  by  Marden,  illustrates  the  kind 
of  men  who  make  successful  engineers:  "A  bright 
lad,  with  clear  title  to  write  A.B.  and  M.E.  after 
his  name,  went  to  work  in  a  shop  where  an  air  com- 
pressor was  used  under  somewhat  peculiar  circum- 
stances. His  duty  was  to  run  this  compressor,  keep 
it  clean,  and  do  whatever  else  the  foreman  thought 
him  fit  for.  No  one  knew  that  he  was  an  engineer 
with  a  degree,  or  that  he  could  have  played  school- 
master to  the  foreman  or  superintendent.  He  took 
good  care  of  the  machine  under  his  charge,  but  the 
governor  gave  trouble,  and  the  representative  of 
the  makers  was  sent  for.  He  came,  looked  it  over, 
and  spent  a  fortnight  trying  to  make  it  work  prop- 
erly. Then  another  man  of  higher  rank  came  and 
spent  another  week  on  the  same  job.  The  young 
man  answered  questions  respectfully  and  asked  them 
so  intelligently  that  he  soon  gathered  a  great  deal 
of  useful  information. 

"Among  other  facts  he  learned  that  a  simple, 
practical,  and  reliable  governor  for  air  compressors 
was  greatly  needed  and  that  to  devise  one  would 
repay  eff^ort.     He  got  out  his  books,  read  all  avail- 


70  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

able  literature  on  air  compressors  and  went  to  work 
on  the  problem.  In  about  three  months  he  had 
found  a  new  principle  in  air  compressor  governors, 
had  worked  out  its  formulae  under  all  conditions 
of  constant  and  variab  e  pressure,  had  made  a  full 
set  of  drawings,  had  them  dated  and  witnessed,  and 
was  ready  to  'talk  business.'  He  approached  the 
superintendent  of  his  own  shop,  but  got  no  other 
satisfaction  than  that  the  concern  had  no  money 
to  waste  on  amateur  experiments  with  other  people's 
machines.  He  then  wrote  to  the  general  manager 
of  the  works  which  built  the  compressor,  giving  a 
brief  statement  of  what  he  had  done.  By  return 
mail  he  received  a  railroad  ticket  and  an  invitation 
to  visit  the  works. 

"The  result  was  that  his  idea  was  enthusiastically 
approved,  and  arrangements  were  made  for  patent- 
ing it  in  every  country  having  a  patent  system,  and 
the  young  man  was  offered  a  position  on  the  engi- 
neering staff  of  the  works,  which  he  promptly  ac- 
cepted. When  he  returned  to  the  shop  in  which  he 
had  originally  worked,  it  was  through  the  office  in- 
stead of  the  gate,  and  his  errand  was  to  perfect  the 
air  compressor  he  had  tended  by  equipping  it  with 
a  governor.  He  is  now  chief  engineer  of  the  con- 
cern he  went  to  with  nothing  but  a  well-considered 
and  useful  idea.  If  the  young  engineer  will  use 
what  he  knows  in  such  work  as  he  has  a  chance  to 
do,   the   fact  of  his   capacity  for   more   responsible 


Engineering  71 

duties  will  soon  appear  and  he  will  find  that  the  road 
to  the  top  is  open  to  him — ^whether  in  the  shop  in 
which  his  career  begins,  or  in  another,  is  immaterial. 
He  will  have  more  opportunities  than  he  has  time 
to  avail  himself  of." 

Preparation  for  Engineering. — Engineers  are 
pretty  well  agreed  that  it  would  be  unwise  for  a 
young  man  to  attempt  to  follow  engineering  as  a 
vocation  without  a  college  training  in  the  subject. 
There  are  a  few  of  the  simpler  kinds  of  work  that 
can  be  done  without  much  special  training,  and  a 
bright  person  can  pick  up  most  of  the  necessary  facts 
by  working  with  others  who  are  well  trained,  but 
in  a  technical  subject  like  engineering,  experience  is 
a  very  slow  schoolmaster. 

One  difficulty  with  undertaking  to  do  work  of 
this  kind  without  adequate  preparation  is  that  just 
as  a  good  start  is  made  and  work  begins  to  come, 
a  person  finds  himself  unable,  on  account  of  lack 
of  training,  to  take  the  most  desirable  contracts.  He 
is  constantly  laboring  against  a  handicap. 

A  four  years'  college  course  above  the  high  school, 
to  which  is  added  a  number  of  years  of  practical 
experience,  is  the  preparation  usually  considered 
necessary  for  the  man  who  poses  as  a  thorough  en- 
gineer. It  is  a  mistake  for  a  person  to  undertake 
difficult  engineering  work  without  being  prepared 
for  it.  The  effects  of  a  failure  in  this  field  are  very 
hard  to  overcome.    A  thorough  training  in  mathe- 


72  Thf   Young  Man  and  His  Focation 

matlcs  and  the  fundamentals  of  science  are  neces- 
sary. 

Opportunities  in  Engineering. — This  is  a  day  of 
construction  and  development  of  all  classes,  and  the 
engineer  is  in  demand  to  plan  and  carry  out  these 
works.  Whether  the  country  is  new  or  old,  there 
is  always  something  for  him  to  do.  There  are  many 
opportunities  for  those  who  can  discover  and  out- 
line profitable  enterprises,  and  place  them  before 
the  investor  who  wants  to  find  such  undertakings. 
There  is  a  call  for  reliable  men  for  private  corpora- 
tions and  for  government  work. 

Some  of  the  branches  of  engineering  have  be- 
come somewhat  crowded  with  young  men  having  no 
particular  ability,  but  the  engineers  of  known  merit 
have  been  able  to  find  plenty  to  do.  Those  who  are 
able  to  harness  the  forces  of  nature  for  the  use  of 
man  can  always  find  problems,  the  solution  of  which 
will  be  profitable.  It  is  a  glorious  occupation  to  be 
acquiring  dominion  over  the  earth  and  its  forces 
and  using  them  for  the  welfare  of  mankind. 


CHAPTER  IX 


ARCHITECTURE 


The  most  majestic  of  "The  Sister  Arts" 
Is  that  which  builds;  the  oldest  of  them  all 
To  whom  the  others  are  but  handmaids 
And  servitors,  being  but  imitation,  not  creation. 

— Longfellow. 

Definition  of  Architecture. — ^According  to  Will- 
iams, "Architecture,  in  its  limited  sense,  is  the  art 
of  designing  and  building  houses,  but,  in  its  widest 
sense  it  is  the  art  of  planning  and  erecting  all  kinds 
of  structures  and  work  from  building  material.  The 
work  constructed  may  be  of  many  kinds:  as  bridges, 
pyramids,  monuments,  walls,  towers,  forts,  ships, 
arches,  aqueducts,  gateways,  shrines,  tombs,  amphi- 
theatres, peristyles,  arcades,  pillars,  pergolas,  ocean 
piers,  canal  locks,  viaducts,  docks,  etc.  Architec- 
ture is  the  art  of  building." 

It  is  the  combination  of  an  art,  a  science,  and  a 
business.  "It  is  the  most  useful  of  the  fine  arts  and 
the  most  noble  of  the  useful  arts."  "Art  utility, 
construction,  sanitation,  economy,  and  safety  are  its 

73 


74  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

subjects."  Good  architecture  must  Include  ideas  of 
beauty,  usefulness,  and  economy. 

Importance  of  Architecture. — More  than  almost 
anything  else,  architecture  is  the  visible  expression 
of  human  progress.  The  structures  reared  by  a  peo- 
ple arfe  an  Index  to  their  accomplishments.  Next 
in  importance  to  being  properly  fed  and  clothed, 
people  should  be  adequately  housed.  Buildings 
sjiould  be  appropriately  and  well  proportioned. 
There  Is  a  great  waste  in  money  and  in  beauty  by 
poor  taste  in  planning.  The  abodes  of  men  endure 
for  centuries,  and  mistakes  In  construction  may  re- 
main to  plague  many  succeeding  generations.  A 
lack  of  harmony  may  be  constantly  offensive  to  the 
sensitive;  a  bad  arrangement  may  cause  an  untold 
waste  In  energy  and  a  loss  of  comfort;  and  proper 
planning  may  greatly  decrease  the  cost  of  construc- 
tion. People  with  good  business  judgment  usually 
employ  an  architect  to  plan  their  buildings,  while 
others  may  leave  the  planning  to  chance. 

Qualities  of  an  Architect. — John  Galen  Harvard, 
architect  of  the  University  of  California,  says:  "No 
other  art  or  profession  requires  In  Its  followers  such 
a  combination  of  qualities  as  does  architecture.  The 
soul  of  the  poet,  the  eye  of  the  painter,  the  prac- 
ticability of  the  shopkeeper,  and  the  mechanical 
knowledge  of  the  master  craftsman  are  the  attri- 
butes of  the  ideal  architect.  Probably  no  man  ever 
possessed  all  of  these  qualities  in  sufficient  degree 


Architecture  75 

to  deserve  the  appellation,  'an  ideal  architect';  yet 
there  have  been  great  men  who  have  proved  that 
the  real  in  architecture  can  be  brought  close  to  the 
ideal.  These  are  the  men  who  have  discerned  that 
beauty  and  utility,  architecture's  prime  elements,  are 
closely  related,  and  can  be  brought  together  in  har- 
monious and  impressive  unities. 

"Many  men  who  follow  the  profession  of  the 
architect  cannot,  or  do  not,  express  in  their  work 
this  dual  nature  of  the  art.  Some  of  them  are  able 
builders.  They  erect  most  convenient  houses,  ex- 
cellent shelters  from  the  rains  and  snows,  the  cold 
and  heat;  but  I  think  nature  desires  that  those  who 
raise  permanent  structures  in  her  domain  shall  give 
them  a  beauty  in  keeping  with  her  own.  Those  who 
overlook  this,  violate  universal  harmony.  Others 
in  the  profession  err  in  the  opposite  direction.  For- 
getting that  all  material  things  have  a  foundation  in 
Mother  Earth,  they  make  designs  of  buildings  that 
are  veritable  castles  in  the  air — charming,  but  im- 
possible, unless  reduced  to  practicability  by  others. 
The  first  of  these  classes  are  builders;  the  second, 
artists.     Neither,  in  my  opinion,  are  true  architects." 

Training  for  Architecture. — ^The  training  of  an 
architect  cannot  be  too  broad.  He  should  have  a 
good  knowledge  of  art,  history,  science,  and  busi- 
ness. He  must  be  a  designer  of  the  new  as  well  as 
follower  of  the  old.  In  Europe,  training  has  in  the 
past  been  given  by  apprenticeship,  while  in  America, 


76  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

most  of  the  architects  have  received  their  training 
in  technical  schools. 

In  addition  to  study  at  an  institution,  a  man  who 
is  preparing  himself  as  an  architect  should  do  con- 
siderable traveling  in  order  to  study  the  better  ex- 
amples of  architecture,  otherwise  his  breadth  of 
view  will  be  limited.  He  would  do  well  to  spend 
a  number  of  years  working  with  a  well-established 
architect  before  beginning  for  himself. 

Opportunities  ifi  Architecture. — There  are  already 
more  persons  attempting  to  practise  architecture 
than  can  find  work,  but  those  who  are  best  fitted 
for  the  work  have  more  than  they  can  do.  It  is 
the  men  of  only  ordinary  training  and  ability  that 
find  it  difficult  to  get  employment. 

People  in  general  should  be  educated  up  to  a 
more  general  use  of  architects.  If  this  were  done 
many  expensive  mistakes  would  be  avoided,  particu- 
larly in  country  districts.  Here  the  buildings  are 
usually  constructed  without  any  plan;  they  are  often 
not  at  all  suited  to  the  conditions  for  which  they 
are  intended.  True,  there  are  no  great  inducements 
to  attract  architects  into  the  country,  as  the  people 
who  live  in  rural  communities  are  not  converted  to 
paying  out  money  for  plans.  There  is  great  need, 
however,  for  the  development  of  a  more  rational 
and  a  more  widely-used  rural  architecture. 

This  ia  an  age  of  building,  when  all  of  the  discov- 
eries of  science  are  applied  in  making  structures  bet- 


Architecture  77 

ter  suited  to  the  needs  of  civilization;  and  there  is 
opportunity  for  the  use  of  inventive  genius  in  de- 
signing structures  that  will  more  fully  meet  the 
needs  of  man. 


CHAPTER  X 


MEDICINE 


Importance. — "In  the  health  of  the  people  lies  the 
happiness,  strength,  and  prosperity  of  the  nation." 
Any  people,  no  matter  what  their  natural  strength, 
cannot  accomplish  anything  worth  while  when  torn 
with  disease  and  plagues.  The  strongest  Individual 
Is  rendered  entirely  helpless  when  attacked  by  sick- 
ness. Good  health,  therefore,  Is  probably  the  great- 
est essential  to  the  well  being  of  mankind. 

In  earlier  times,  all  forms  of  sickness  were  at- 
tributed to  the  111  will  of  the  gods,  and  man  was 
thought  to  have  practically  no  control  over  disease. 
Hippocrates,  a  Greek  physician  and  philosopher,  liv- 
ing during  the  fifth  century  before  Christ,  laid  the 
foundation  of  medicine  by  attributing  sickness  to 
some  physical  cause  and  trying  to  find  a  remedy  for 
it.  The  discoveries  of  modern  science  In  chemistry, 
physics,  physiology,  and  bacteriology  have  given 
new  means  of  studying  disease  and  methods  of  com- 
bating It.  One  thought  of  the  age  is  to  discover 
the  cause  of  sickness  and  to  find  methods  of  pre- 
venting it.     The  maxim  that  "an  ounce  of  preventa- 

7% 


Medicine  79 

tive  is  worth  a  pound  of  cure,"  has  been  used  as 
a  constant  guide. 

To  those  who  study  medicine  is  intrusted  the 
health  of  the  community,  and  therefore  the  well 
being  of  mankind.  They  must  be  the  leaders  and 
must  point  the  way  to  others.  This  is  an  age  when 
every  man  is  more  or  less  familiar  with  the  princi- 
ples underlying  the  preservation  of  health,  but  he 
must  be  constantly  guided  by  those  who  have  made 
a  special  study  of  medicine. 

The  Prospective  Doctor. — The  young  man  who 
is  considering  medicine  as  a  vocation  should  care- 
fully take  stock  of  himself  to  see  if  he  is  adapted 
to  the  work.  One  young  man  whose  parents  are 
well-to-do  complied  with  their  request  to  study  medi- 
cine. He  was  sent  to  the  best  college  that  could  be 
found,  but  after  spending  a  number  of  years  in 
study  he  found  himself  entirely  unsuited  to  the  pro- 
fession. Further,  it  was  very  distasteful  to  him. 
Needless  to  say  he  did  not  practise  successfully. 
Had  more  attention  been  given  to  the  question  at 
first,  a  number  of  valuable  years  and  a  great  deal 
of  money  could  have  been  saved. 

A  young  man  who  lived  in  a  small  town  where  a 
doctor  was  making  a  great  deal  of  money  decided 
he  would  study  medicine.  He  bent  every  energy 
to  prepare  himself  for  a  medical  college.  One  day 
he  read  an  article  which  showed  that  the  money 
made  by  doctors  did  not  average  more  than  that 


80  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

made  in  a  number  of  other  vocations.  This  seemed 
to  take  away  all  his  ambition  to  become  a  doctor. 
He  had  been  thinking  entirely  of  the  money.  For- 
tunately he  took  up  another  line. 

Dr.  George  F.  Shrady,  who  was  General  Grant's 
physician,  tells,  in  the  following  words,  some  of 
the  things  to  be  kept  in  mind  by  the  young  man 
who  expects  to  study  medicine: 

"In  the  first  place,  your  young  man  must  consider 
whether  or  not  he  is  suited  for  the  medical  profes- 
sion at  all.  Does  he  experience  a  desire,  an  abso- 
lute call,  toward  the  life  of  a  physician.^  Does  he 
look  upon  medicine  as  something  far  more  than  a 
mere  money-making  pursuit.^  Is  he  content  to  de- 
vote his  whole  mind  to  the  study  of  medical  science 
and  its  development,  to  study  morning,  noon,  and 
night  and  to  continue  unceasingly  to  study  until 
death  shall  summon  him  to  his  reward.?  Unless  he 
can  answer  in  the  affirmative,  he  would  better  give 
up  the  thought  of  becoming  a  doctor." 

Good  health  is  an  absolute  necessity  for  one  hav- 
ing a  successful  practise  as  a  physician.  Calls  are 
so  irregular  and,  during  certain  seasons,  so  numer- 
ous that  an  iron  constitution  is  necessary  to  keep 
up  under  the  strain. 

The  doctor,  to  be  a  successful  practitioner,  should 
have  a  cheerful  disposition  and  be  able  to  get  along 
well  with  people.  There  are  many  men  who  are 
thoroughly  familiar  with  the  principles  of  medicine, 


Medicine  81 

who  make  a  miserable  failure  in  practise  on  account 
of  their  dispositions. 

Only  Good  Doctors  Needed. — A  report  of  the 
Carnegie  Foundation  on  Medical  Education  has  the 
following  to  say  about  the  need  for  better  trained 
medical  men: 

"For  twenty-five  years  past  there  has  been  an 
enormous  over-production  of  uneducated  and  ill- 
trained  medical  practitioners.  This  has  been  in  ab- 
solute disregard  of  the  public  welfare.  Taking  the 
United  States  as  a  whole,  physicians  are  four  or 
five  times  as  numerous  in  proportion  to  population 
as  in  older  countries  like  Germany.  In  a  town  of 
two  thousand  people  one  will  find,  in  most  of  our 
states,  from  five  to  eight  physicians  where  two  well- 
trained  men  could  do  the  work  efficiently  and  make 
a  competent  livelihood.  When,  however,  six  or 
eight  ill-trained  physicians  undertake  to  get  a  living 
in  a  town  which  will  support  only  two,  the  whole 
plan  of  professional  conduct  is  lowered  in  the  strug- 
gle that  ensues;  each  man  becomes  intent  on  his  own 
practise,  public  health  and  sanitation  are  neglected, 
and  the  ideals  and  standards  of  the  profession  tend 
to  demoralization." 

There  are  more  than  one  hundred  and  thirty 
thousand  physicians  in  this  country.  This  is  perhaps 
larger  than  the  number  should  be,  but  it  does  not 
imply  that  no  other  should  enter  the  profession.  On 
the  other  hand,  there  never  was  a  better  opportunity 


82  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

in  the  practise  of  medicine  for  men  having  the 
proper  training  and  personality. 

Since  the  health  of  the  people  must  be  left  largely 
in  the  hands  of  the  "profession,"  it  is  important  that 
all  who  practise  come  up  to  the  highest  possible 
standard.  A  poor  farmer,  aside  from  the  bad  ex- 
ample, could  do  but  little  harm,  but  a  poor  doctor 
may  jeopardize  the  health  of  an  entire  community. 

Preparing  to  Be  a  Doctor. — Medicine  is  a  pro- 
fession that  cannot  be  practised  without  a  very  con- 
siderable amount  of  technical  training.  At  present, 
the  regular  medical  courses  embrace  four  years  of 
study  in  a  medical  college  preceded  by  preparatory 
work  and  followed  by  practise  in  a  hospital. 

The  best  medical  colleges  are  now  requiring  for 
entrance,  in  addition  to  four  years  high  school,  three 
or  four  years  of  college  work  in  sciences  and  related 
subjects.  Where  the  chemistry,  physiology,  bacteri- 
ology, etc.,  have  been  taken  before  entering  the 
medical  college,  there  is  much  more  time  left  to 
study  subjects  relating  more  particularly  to  medi- 
cine. As  a  preparatory  step,  young  men  often  find 
it  advantageous  to  study  in  the  office  of  a  reliable 
physician.  This  preliminary  study  and  observation 
makes  them  more  able  to  grasp  the  theoretical  work 
of  the  school. 

Beginning  Practise. — Before  the  graduate  from 
college  goes  out  into  the  world  for  himself,  he  should 
have  a  year  of  hospital  practise  in  a  large  city.     The 


Medicine  83 

cases  met  with  here  will  so  fix  principles  on  his  mind 
that  he  will  be  benefited  throughout  his  entire  future 
practise. 

Even  if  a  doctor  expects  to  specialize  later,  it  is 
an  excellent  thing  for  him  to  have  a  few  years  of 
general  practise,  to  be  used  as  a  foundation  for  his 
specialty.  A  young  physician  cannot  expect  ordi- 
narily to  jump  into  a  large  practise  all  at  once.  It 
takes  years  to  build  up  confidence  and  to  get  thor- 
oughly established.  The  getting  of  the  diploma 
does  not  constitute  the  entire  battle.  In  order  to 
be  worthy  of  a  good  practise,  constant  work  is  neces- 
sary. Doctor  Shrady,  after  discussing  the  prepara- 
tion a  doctor  should  have,  adds: 

"Equipped  thus  thoroughly  for  a  practical  start 
in  life,  let  Doctor  Young  Man  not  lay  aside  his 
book;  until  death  beckons  him  away,  he  must  read 
and  study.  All  the  new  books,  all  the  medical  peri- 
odicals, all  the  latest  instruments  and  contrivances, 
must  be  familiar  to  him.  He  must  keep  fully  abreast 
of  the  rapid  tide  of  medical  improvement,  or  else 
drop  helplessly  and  almost  uselessly  behind.  From 
the  day  that  I  was  graduated,  I  have  never  ceased 
to  study,  and  I  shall  never  cease  to  study  until  the 
end.  If  a  young  man  does  not  like  the  prospect  of 
life-long  labor,  let  him  not  hope  to  become  a  suc- 
cessful physician." 

Dentistry. — There  are  about  thirty  thousand  den- 
tists in  the  United  States,  or  nearly  one-fourth  as 


84  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

many  as  there  are  physicians.  In  his  study  the  den- 
tist has  many  things  in  common  with  the  physician. 
The  requirements,  however,  are  not  usually  so  high 
and  the  field  for  the  exercise  of  special  genius  not 
so  great.  His  hours  of  work  are  regular,  and  after 
he  gets  a  good  practise  established  the  dentist  usually 
finds  himself  in  an  agreeable  occupation. 


CHAPTER  XI 


LAW 


The  Need  of  Law. — •"Orderly  and  well-regulated 
society,"  writes  a  successful  lawyer,  "could  not  exist 
without  an  authoritative  pronouncement  of  the  rules 
governing  the  activities  of  the  units  composing  that 
society,  as  well  as  the  society  itself.  This  pronounce- 
ment, whether  it  comes  from  the  single  individual 
sovereign,  from  a  body  of  rulers,  from  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  people,  or  the  people  themselves, 
is  the  law  of  society. 

"It  follows  that  without  law  there  could  be  no 
organized  society,  and  consequently  law  is  a  funda- 
mental and  basic  necessity.  Just  in  proportion  as 
society  becomes  more  highly  organized  and  its  ac- 
tivities more  complex,  it  demands  for  its  adminis- 
tration special  skill  and  knowledge.  As  food  is  un- 
conditionally necessary  to  man's  physical  existence, 
so  law  is  unconditionally  necessary  to  the  existence 
of  the  social  body;  and  just  as  the  necessity  for  food 
creates  an  imperative  demand  for  a  special  knowl- 
edge and  skill  in  its  production,  so  the  need  of  society 
creates   an   imperative  demand   for  the  services   of 

85 


86  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

those  skilled  in  the  administration  of  law.  Law  as 
a  vocation,  therefore,  is  a  social  necessity." 

Desirable  Qualities  in  a  Lawyer. — There  is  prob- 
ably no  vocation  having  so  divers  effects  on  those 
practising  it  as  the  law.  Those  who  are  honest  and 
have  a  love  for  justice  find  a  wonderful  opportunity 
for  service  along  these  lines;  while  persons  of  low 
character  find  in  the  law  a  means  of  stooping  to  all 
kinds  of  trickery  and  foul  play.  It  is  important  for 
the  welfare  of  society  that  those  engaging  in  the 
practise  of  law  be  men  of  sterling  qualities. 

One  judge  of  considerable  experience  expresses 
his  ideas  of  conditions  of  success  as  follows:  "First, 
absolute  honesty;  second,  absolute  honesty;  third, 
absolute  honesty;  fourth,  absolute  honesty;  and  fifth, 
absolute  honesty." 

Another  prominent  judge  says:  "The  personal 
qualities  desirable  in  the  practise  of  law  consist  pri- 
marily of  those  common  to  all  vocations,  viz. :  integ- 
rity, industry,  and  stick-to-it-iveness.  The  special 
mental  qualification,  however,  is  a  clear  analytical 
mind,  without  which  no  lawyer  will  ever  be  more 
than  ordinarily  successful.  Apart  from  this  neces- 
sary mental  attribute,  other  qualifications  are  quite 
diversified,  and  generally  result  in  the  ultimate  nat- 
ural selection  of  legal  specialists. 

"The  person  possessing  alertness,  quick-witted 
judgment  of  human  nature,  ready  discernment  of 
facts,  and  of  the  methods  for  unraveling  them,  abil- 


Law  87 

ity  to  plausibly  and  good  naturedly  impress  his  ideas 
upon  the  tribunal  he  confronts,  makes  the  most  suc- 
cessful court  attendant  and  trial  lawyer.  The  indi- 
vidual having  a  more  deliberate  and  contemplative 
mind,  becomes  the  legal  adviser,  the  office  lawyer, 
the  brief-maker,  the  law  professor,  or  the  author 
of  legal  literature.  The  lawyer  having  patience,  a 
calm  and  impartial  judgment,  and  a  general  all 
round  knowledge  of  human  affairs,  usually  becomes 
the  best  presiding  judge." 

Young  men  often  think  that  if  they  are  successful 
in  a  college  debate  or  have  ability  in  declamation, 
they  should  become  lawyers  at  once,  when  they  may 
in  reality  not  be  at  all  suited  to  the  profession.  The 
Lord  Chief-Justice  of  England  said  regarding  pros- 
pective lawyers:  "I  name  love  of  the  profession  as 
the  first  qualification,  I  name  physical  health  and 
energy  as  the  second.  No  man  of  weak  health  ought 
to  be  advised  to  go  to  the  bar.  For  mental  qualifi- 
cations, clear-headed  common  sense.  There  remains 
one  other  main  consideration  to  be  taken  into  account, 
namely:  ability  to  wait.  Unless  a  man  has  the  means 
to  maintain  himself,  living  frugally  foj  some  years, 
or  the  means  of  earning  enough  to  maintain  him- 
self in  this  fashion,  say  by  his  pen  or  otherwise,  he 
ought  to  hesitate  before  going  to  the  bar." 

Preparation  for  Legal  Practise. — "The  best  prep- 
aration for  practise,  after  an  inherent  liking  for  the 
nature  of  the  work,   is   a   wide   acquaintance  with 


88  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

human  affairs.  The  practitioner  is  dealing  always 
with  business  activities  of  others.  There  is  scarcely 
a  branch  of  human  knowledge  or  activity  that  the 
lawyer  does  not  have  to  study.  To  try  a  case  suc- 
cessfully, involving  mining,  irrigation,  livestock, 
physical  injuries,  and  so  on  to  infinity,  the  lawyer 
must  make  himself  familiar  with  all  these  subjects. 
The  more  intimate  the  acquaintance  of  the  practi- 
tioner with  the  details  of  all  the  other  vocations, 
the  more  successful  he  would  be.  A  training  In 
logical  thinking  and  accurate  deduction,  wide  knowl- 
edge of  history  and  economics,  together  with  facility 
and  technical  skill  In  the  use  of  English,  would  add 
greatly  to  the  lawyer's  equipment."  In  these  days 
of  good  schools,  the  only  safe  recommendation  is 
that  the  prospective  lawyer  attend  a  regular  law 
school  for  his  technical  training.  Many  successful 
lawyers  have  obtained  their  knowledge  of  the  law 
by  study  in  a  law  office  or  by  reading  alone.  This 
method,  however,  is  likely  to  leave  a  person  without 
the  broad  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  law  that 
is  obtained  in  a  first-class  college. 

After  graduating  from  his  course,  it  Is  a  good  plan 
to  spend  a  few  years  in  the  office  of  a  good  law  firm. 
The  school  teaches  the  principles,  and  work  In  an 
office  gives  the  needed  preliminary  practise. 

Opportunities  in  Law. — In  the  United  States,  law 
is  probably  the  most  overcrowded  of  all  the  pro- 
fessions.    There  are  In  the  country  about  one  hun- 


Law  89 

dred  and  fifteen  thousand  lawyers,  the  greater  part 
of  whom  are  not  successful.  In  Chicago  where  there 
are  five  thousand  lawyers,  most  of  the  legal  work  is 
done  by  about  one  thousand,  the  others  merely 
existing.  New  York  has  more  lawyers  than  all 
France. 

Probably  one  reason  why  there  is  such  a  mania 
for  the  study  of  law  in  America  is  that  it  is  con- 
sidered as  a  stepping  stone  to  politics.  Another  rea- 
son is  the  high  fees  sometimes  paid  for  individual 
cases.  These  are  uncommon,  but  they  act  as  a  stimu- 
lant similar  to  the  occasional  "lucky  strike"  found 
by  the  prospector.  Very  few  men  get  rich  in  the 
practise  of  law,  but  some  lawyers  use  their  pro- 
fession as  a  means  of  making  profitable  business 
connections.  "Ninety-five  per  cent.,"  says  Austin 
Fletcher  of  the  New  York  Bar,  "of  those  who  enter 
upon  the  practise  of  the  law  would  probably  have 
done  much  better  if  they  had  chosen  a  different 
kind  of  work.  Not  more  than  five  per  cent,  attain 
a  genuine  success,  in  accomplishment  or  reward.  No 
one  should  enter  any  of  the  learned  professions  be- 
cause he  believes  it  offers  a  large  pecuniary  promise. 
If  one  prefers  the  law  to  any  other  occupation,  he 
possesses  one  of  the  elements  of  success  in  taking 
it  up.  He  should  next  be  certain  that  he  has  suffi- 
cient stamina  to  hold  the  moral  rudder  true,  for 
there  is  no  profession  or  business  vocation  which 
requires  a  keener  moral  sense  and  greater  strength 


90  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

of  character  than  the  practise  of  the  law."  Of  mere 
petifoggers,  legal  tricksters,  and  practitioners  of  low 
ability,  the  country  has  too  many;  but  there  is  still  a 
crying  need  for  men  of  character  and  ability  to 
assist  in  maintaining  the  rights  of  mankind. 


CHAPTER  XII 


POLITICS 


Definition. — The  word  "politics"  is  used  to  ex- 
press a  number  of  very  different  things.  To  many, 
it  means  a  system  of  graft  entered  into  by  a  number 
of  tricksters  working  under  the  cloak  of  government. 
This,  however,  is  not  its  true  meaning  any  more 
than  farming  means  the  raising  of  inferior  products 
of  the  soil  to  be  used  in  cheating  purchasers  out 
of  their  money. 

The  Standard  Dictionary  defines  politics  as  being, 
"The  branch  of  civics  that  treats  of  the  principles 
of  civil  government  and  the  conduct  of  state  affairs; 
the  administration  of  public  affairs  in  the  interest 
of  the  peace,  prosperity,  and  safety  of  the  state; 
statecraft;  political  science;  in  a  wide  sense  em- 
bracing the  science  of  government  and  civil  polity." 

Thus,  it  is  the  management  of  public  affairs — 
those  pertaining  to  society  taken  as  a  unit.  Dis- 
honest men  may  use  it  to  further  their  own  ends, 
but  this  does  not  make  the  subject  any  the  less 
important. 

91 


92  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

Importance  of  Politics. — "Politics,  or  the  science 
of  government,"  says  a  member  of  Congress,  *'is 
the  greatest  and  most  profound  study  of  mankind, 
and  has  attracted  to  its  consideration  in  all  ages 
public-spirited  men  of  high  character,  great  knowl- 
edge, and  profound  wisdom.  A  full  knowledge  of 
the  true  principles  of  government  and  the  ability 
to  conform  to  them  is  the  highest  degree  of  intelli- 
gence. Once  having  mastered  this  science  the  way 
is  clear  for  unimpeded  progress  in  every  other  voca- 
tion in  which  human  effort  is  enlisted." 

Many  people  are  pessimistic  in  their  views  of 
politics.  They  simply  say:  "Politics  is  corrupt  and 
the  less  a  person  has  to  do  with  it  the  better  he  will 
be  off."  They  follow  their  own  advice  and  have 
nothing  to  do  with  it.  If  politics  has  degenerated 
in  a  free  country  like  ours,  it  is  because  the  masses 
of  the  people  have  left  the  subject  entirely  alone. 
They  have  not  taken  the  trouble  to  attend  prima- 
ries or  even  to  vote,  and  then  they  complain  that 
conditions  are  not  as  they  should  be.  The  only 
way  to  keep  dishonest  men  from  running  public 
affairs  is  for  those  who  are  honest  to  take  a  part 
themselves. 

Every  man  of  ability  living  under  a  free  govern- 
ment owes  it  to  himself,  to  his  family,  to  the  nation, 
and  to  posterity  to  lend  his  strength  to  making 
the  government  what  it  should  be.  There  are  many 
who,  if  a  merchant  should  make  a  few  cents  over- 


Politics  93 

charge  on  a  bill  of  goods,  would  spend  any  amount 
of  time  getting  it  corrected;  yet  when  questions  of 
national  importance  are  at  stake,  they  will  not  take 
a  few  minutes  to  study  the  issues  or  make  any  effort 
to  have  good  men  elected  or  good  measures  adopted. 
The  tendency  to  leave  these  matters  to  the  others 
is  altogether  too  widespread. 

Politics  as  a  Career. — Politics  should  probably  not 
be  considered  as  a  life's  vocation,  since  it  is  usually 
an  outgrowth  of  success  in  some  other  field.  In 
some  countries  politics  is  a  vocation  that  is  prepared 
for  the  same  as  other  vocations,  but  this  is  not  the 
case  in  this  country.  The  person  who  devotes  his 
time  seeking  public  oifice  to  satisfy  mere  personal 
ambition  is  sure  to  meet  with  many  disappointments, 
sooner  or  later. 

Shakespeare,  in  his  play  "Henry  VIII,"  shows 
how  unsafe  is  the  ambition  for  honors  of  office. 
He  makes  Cardinal  Wolsey,  who  has  spent  a  life- 
time trying  to  satisfy  his  lust  for  official  preferment, 
voice  his  disappointment  as  follows: 

"Let's  dry  our  eyes;  and  thus  far  hear  me,  Cromwell; 
And — when  I  am  forgotten,  as  I  shall  be; 
And  sleep  in  ^ull,  cold  marble  where  no  mention 
Of  me  more /must  be  heard  of — say,  I  taught  thee; 
Say,  Wolsey — that  once  trod  the  ways  of  glory, 
And  sounded  all  the  depth  and  shoals  of  honor — ■ 
Found  thee  a  way  out  of  his  wreck,  to  rise  in; 


94  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

A  sure  and  safe  one,  though  thy  master  missed  it. 

Mark  but  my  fall  and  that  that  ruined  me. 

Cromwell,  I  charge  thee,  fling  away  ambition; 

By  that  sin  fell  the  angels;  how  can  man,  then. 

The  image  of  his  maker,  hope  to  win  by  it? 

Love  thyself  last;  cherish  those  hearts  that  hate  thee. 

Corruption  wins  not  more  than  honesty; 

Still  in  thy  right  hand  carry  gentle  peace. 

To  Silence  envious  tongues.     Be  just  and  fear  not; 

Let  all  the  ends  thou  aimest  at,  be  they  country's. 

Thy    God's    and    truth's,    then    if    thou    fall'st,    O 

Cromwell, 
Thou  fall'st  a  blessed  martyr." 


Even  though  there  are  often  disappointments  at- 
tending the  holding  of  public  office,  it  is  necessary 
for  some  one  to  administer  the  affairs  of  govern- 
ment. To  the  person  with  pure  motives,  the  public 
service  afi^ords  an  opportunity  to  do  good;  and,  as 
such,  it  should  be  considered  as  a  compliment  and 
something  worth  striving  for.  "The  office  should 
seek  the  man,  not  the  man  the  office." 

There  arc  good  opportunities  in  the  town,  the 
county,  the  state,  and  the  nation  for  young  men  of 
ability  to  spend  a  few  years  as  holders  of  office. 
There  is  also  a  call  for  all  to  take  an  interest  in 
political  aflPairs  and  to  do  what  they  can  to  improve 
the  methods  of  government.     Nothing  but  contempt, 


Politics  95 

however,  should  be  given  the  man  who  tries  to  ex- 
ploit the  public  good  for  personal  gain,  and  whose 
only  interest  in  politics  lies  in  the  money  he  can 
make  out  of  it. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


TEACHING 


Kinds  of  Teaching. — There  are  numerous  grades 
in  the  teaching  profession,  ranging  from  the  in- 
structor of  a  few  children  of  kindergarten  age  to  the 
head  of  a  department  in  a  large  university.  Indeed, 
there  are  teachers  who  are  in  no  way  connected  with 
any  regular  educational  institution,  but  who  impart 
instruction  to  apprentices  or  other  associates  in  the 
various  activities  in  which  they  are  engaged. 

Teaching  as  a  vocation,  however,  is  usually  con- 
fined to  the  public  or  private  school  of  various 
classes,  and  those  who  engage  in  it  usually  spend 
their  entire  time  at  this  work.  They  generally  re- 
ceive a  definite  salary  which  is  fixed  each  year.  Vari- 
ous degrees  of  freedom  are  enjoyed,  ranging  from 
the  primary  teacher,  who  may  have  to  submit  to  a 
supervisor  a  plan  of  each  exercise,  to  the  college 
professor  who  has  entire  charge  of  his  department. 

Importance  of  Teaching. — No  work  in  the  world 
can  be  higher  or  more  noble  than  that  of  guiding 
and  shaping  human   lives;  and  those  who  have  to 

96 


Teaching  97 

do  with  teaching  the  rising  generation  are  truly  the 
moulders  of  civilization.  The  teacher  in  the  school 
and  the  parents  in  the  home  are  the  two  forces 
that  determine,  in  a  large  measure,  the  prepara- 
tion with  which  the  child  must  face  the  world.  If 
his  training  has  been  lacking  or  if  improper  ideals 
have  been  given  him,  he  will  enter  upon  the  serious 
work  of  life  greatly  hampered;  but  if  in  home  and 
school  he  has  built  up  a  strong  character  and  has 
received  the  learning  that  will  be  helpful  to  him,  he 
can  face  the  world  without  regrets.  All  he  has  to 
do  is  fight  and  conquer.  He  is  protected  by  the 
impenetrable  armor  of  character;  and,  taking  the 
sword  of  truth  in  his  strong  right  hand,  he  can  hew 
his  way  through  an  army  of  obstacles  and  come  out 
triumphant. 

The  good  the  teacher  may  do  is  not  confined  to 
the  few  students  who  come  directly  under  his  tuition, 
but  it  extends  on  from  generation  to  generation. 
The  Great  Teacher  of  all  time  had  but  few  disciples 
while  he  lived, yet  the  "glad  tidings  of  great  joy" 
have  blessed  millions. 

Many  examples  could  be  given  of  entire  communi- 
ties being  well  nigh  made  over  through  the  efforts 
of  one  teacher;  one  will  suffice.  A  young  man  of 
high  ideals,  strong  personality,  untiring  energy,  and 
excellent  training  went  into  a  small  town  as  teacher 
in  the  schools.  He  found  no  interest  in  education, 
no  progress  of  any  kind.     The  boys  went  to  school 


98  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

as  little  as  possible;  instead  they  spent  most  of  their 
time  loafing  on  the  street  corners  telling  coarse 
stories.  There  was  no  ambition  to  do  anything  ex- 
cept to  be  on  the  sidewalk  as  many  months  as  possible 
during  the  year. 

The  young  teacher,  by  using  great  tact  and  doing 
an  almost  endless  amount  of  work,  finally  began  to 
awaken  interest  in  higher  things.  His  first  converts 
helped  him  to  make  others,  and  finally  he  had  the 
entire  community  aroused.  Many  young  people 
were  induced  to  go  away  to  school.  These  later 
returned  home  and  became  leaders.  The  town  as- 
sumed an  entirely  different  aspect,  and  the  next 
generation  was  born  under  absolutely  changed 
conditions. 

Desirable  Qualities  in  a  Teacher. — ^A  teacher 
should  first  of  all  have  a  love  for  his  calling.  If  he 
lacks  this  one  quality  he  should  engage  in  some- 
thing else,  since  his  dislike  for  the  work  is  sure 
to  manifest  itself  in  his  teachings.  He  should  feel, 
on  entering  the  schoolroom  in  the  morning,  that  a 
day  of  joy  is  before  him,  and  in  the  evening  he 
should  have  the  satisfaction  that  comes  from  a  day 
well  spent  and  a  pleasant  duty  performed.  A  farmer 
may  not  like  his  work  and  no  one  but  himself  be 
injured  by  his  attitude;  but  if  the  teacher's  heart 
is  not  in  what  he  does,  all  who  come  under  his 
tuition  will  feel  the  ill  effects. 

One  who  works  in  the  schoolroom  should  have  a 


Teaching  99 

pleasant  personality  and  be  able  to  win  the  con- 
fidence of  his  associates.  He  should  have  good  dis- 
cipline and  be  able  to  maintain  the  mastery  under 
all  circumstances. 

The  prospective  teacher  must  be  sufficiently  robust 
in  body  to  endure  the  strain  resulting  from  close 
confinement  within  doors.  He  should  be  of  an 
intellectual  turn  of  mind,  and  should  have  the  prepa- 
ration necessary  to  teach  his  subject.  It  is  impor- 
tant that  his  character  be  good  in  order  to  build 
properly  the  characters  of  those  coming  under  his 
charge. 

Preparation  for  Teaching. — Preparation  is  the 
keynote  to  success  in  teaching.  He  who  enters  the 
field  without  being  prepared  to  instruct  is  not  only 
untrue  to  himself  but  he  is  doing  a  great  injustice 
to  those  coming  under  his  direction.  Natural  ability 
counts  for  much,  but  it  can  never  make  up  for  lack 
of  information  on  the  subject  one  is  to  teach.  It  is 
better  to  have  the  child  untaught  than  to  teach 
him  what  is  not  true.  It  often  takes  a  lifetime  to 
correct  mistakes  made  by  incompetent  teachers. 

The  preparation  needed  varies  with  the  kind  of 
teaching  to  be  done.  The  teacher  must  be  familiar 
with  the  facts  he  is  to  present  to  others,  and  in 
addition  should  have  a  broad  view  of  the  subject 
in  its  various  relations,  in  order  that  he  may  give 
the  facts  their  proper  setting. 

In   the   lower   grades,   the   teacher   must   have   a 


100  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

knowledge  of  child  life,  and  know  how  to  appeal  to 
childish  fancies.  With  college  students  of  maturity, 
it  is  probably  necessary  to  pay  less  attention  to  this 
phase  of  teaching  and  more  to  the  facts  presented. 
Any  teacher,  whether  in  the  kindergarten  or  in  the 
college,  should  have  an  understanding  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  psychology  and  methods  by  which  the  mind 
acquires  knowledge.  The  young  person  who  expects 
to  make  teaching  a  life's  work  should,  in  addition 
to  preparation  in  subject  matter,  attend  a  first-class 
normal  school.  No  teacher  should  have  to  work 
against  the  handicap  of  not  having  a  normal  train- 
ii]g.  He  may  be  a  good  teacher  without  it,  but  his 
usefulness  will  be  greatly  increased  by  having  this 
extra  tool.  It  takes  years  of  preparation  for 
teaching  in  any  line,  but  success  cannot  be  had  with- 
out paying  the  price. 

Compensation  of  Teachers. — -No  one  ever  heard 
of  a  teacher  getting  rich  simply  by  working  at  his 
profession.  In  the  past,  the  monetary  compensation 
has  been  far  short  of  the  service  rendered,  but  each 
year  sees  an  improvement  in  this  respect.  The  salary 
varies  from  a  few  dollars  a  month  in  isolated  rural 
schools  to  as  high  as  ten  thousand  dollars  a  year  in 
a  few  cases  for  specialists  in  the  large  universities. 

While  the  teacher  does  not  accumulate  wealth, 
he  usually  makes  a  comfortable  living  and  at  the 
same  time  has  the  opportunity  to  associate  with  a 
fine  class  of  people.     He  makes  less  in  actual  wages 


Teaching  101 

than  he  could  probably  get  in  some  other  line,  but 
this  is  partly  made  up  to  him  by  the  pleasant  con- 
ditions of  his  life  as  a  teacher. 

He  must  also  receive  part  of  his  compensation  in 
the  satisfaction  coming  from  the  good  he  does  to 
his  pupils.  When,  after  years  of  hard  work  at  low 
pay,  an  old  student  comes  up  and  putting  his  arms 
around  him  says:  "This  is  the  man  who  started  me 
right  in  life.  I  owe  all  I  am  to  his  wise  teachings"; 
then  it  is  that  dollars  and  cents  sink  into  insignificance 
and  the  teacher  feels  fully  paid  for  every  effort  he 
has  ever  put  forth. 

Opportunities  in  Teaching. — ^To  the  young  man 
who  has  a  love  for  the  work,  whose  very  soul  burns 
with  a  desire  to  instruct  and  who  is  willing  to  pre- 
pare himself  properly,  there  is  always  an  oppor- 
tunity in  the  teaching  profession.  There  are  in 
this  country  about  half  a  million  teachers  and  the 
field  is  never  greatly  overcrowded.  Many  men  leave 
it  to  enter  some  other  business,  and  many  of  the 
lady  teachers  leave  it  to  get  married;  hence,  recruits 
are  constantly  needed.  Indeed,  the  demand  is  so 
insistent  that  it  is  impossible  to  get  teachers  with 
adequate  preparation. 

The  higher  one  goes  in  the  profession,  the  greater 
are  the  demands  for  his  services.  Of  poorly  pre- 
pared and  inefficient  teachers,  there  are  plenty;  but 
of  those  who  combine  natural  ability  with  proper 
training,  there  is  a  great  dearth.     The  young  man 


102  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

desiring  to  spend  his  life  in  the  service  of  his  fel- 
lows, and  being  willing  to  give  those  services  for 
moderate  monetary  compensation,  will  find  the 
teaching  profession   a  very  attractive  field. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


ART 


Importance. — ^Art  enters  so  intimately  into  every 
phase  of  life  that  it  can  hardly  be  classed  as  a  voca- 
tion by  itself,  although  in  some  of  its  phases,  such 
as  painting  and  sculpture,  it  becomes  a  profession 
in  which  the  artist  spends  most  of  his  time.  It  is 
usually  divided  into  two  classes:  first,  the  fine  arts, 
such  as  painting,  drawing,  architecture,  sculpture, 
music,  engraving,  and  poetry;  and  second,  the  useful 
arts,  such  as  the  operative  and  mechanical  arts,  in- 
dustrial   arts,    agriculture,    transportation,    etc. 

"Its  domain,"  says  W.  H.  Williams,  "embraces 
the  whole  range  of  man's  activities  and  industries. 
The  realm  of  art  contains  the  finest  products  of 
man's  skill,  the  best  achievement  of  his  hands,  the 
highest  offering  of  his  intellect.  All  things,  brought 
to  a  state  of  perfection  by  human  labor,  have  reached 
that  condition  because  of  persistent  effort  in  some 
one  of  the  divisions  of  art. 

"A  work  of  art  is  an  expression  of  the  worker's 
thoughts.  It  is  a  copy  made  from  the  worker's  ideas. 
It  is  a  result  of  the  inspiration  of  his  genius.     The 

103 


104         The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

material  wrought  upon  simply  receives  an  impres- 
sion of  the  mental  picture  In  the  soul  of  the  artist. 

"Works  of  art  which  have  been  made  by  a  mas- 
ter's hand  have  great  power  in  them.  They  appeal 
to  one's  ideas  of  grace,  harmony,  and  beauty;  they 
arouse  the  finer  senses  of  the  beautiful;  they  create 
feelings  of  delight  because  of  the  perfection  of 
their  execution,  and  truthful  expression  of  the 
thought  for  which  they  stand  as  representation." 

Personal  Qualities  of  an  Artist. — ^The  worker  In 
art,  probably  more  than  in  any  other  field,  must  have 
a  temperament  suited  to  the  work.  Most  any  one 
can  learn  to  draw  or  paint  in  some  fashion  if  he 
spends  enough  time,  but  one  with  natural  ability 
will  acquire  skill  In  a  fraction  of  the  time  necessary 
for  one  without  talents  In  this  direction.  In  addi- 
tion to  an  artistic  temperament,  the  prospective  artist 
should  have  a  love  for  the  work,  amounting  almost 
to  a  passion.  Beauty  in  form  and  color  should 
appeal  strongly  to  him.  He  should  have  a  vivid 
imagination  and  sufficient  technical  skill  to  carry  out 
his  Ideas.  Ability  to  work  hard  and  willingness 
to  sacrifice  are  necessary  for  success. 

Preparation. — ^The  preparation  for  work  in  art 
depends  to  a  great  extent  on  the  branch  that  Is 
to  be  followed.  A  general  education,  Including  at 
least  as  much  as  the  high  school,  is  the  first  requisite. 
This  should  be  followed  by  a  number  of  years  of 
special  study  in  an  art  Institute  or  in  an  art  center. 


Art  105 

Becoming  an  artist  Is  not  a  question  of  learning 
facts,  but  of  developing  ability  to  execute.  Emi- 
nence cannot  be  attained  In  a  short  time;  long  years 
of  persistent  application  are  necessary  In  acquiring 
skill. 

Opportunities  in  Art. —  The  close  relationship  be- 
tween art  and  the  Industries  makes  It  possible  for 
those  who  are  prepared  to  do  certain  kinds  of  art 
work  to  find  remunerative  employment.  Some  who 
are  Interested  in  art  for  art's  sake  feel  themselves 
above  doing  anything  that  flavors  of  the  commer- 
cial. They  will  paint  to  express  an  idea  of  their 
imagination,  but  will  not  consent  to  Illustrate  maga- 
zines or  catalogues. 

There  are  very  good  opportunities  in  the  Indus- 
tries for  designers  as  well  as  illustrators,  and  both 
these  fields  pay  well  for  those  who  are  most  com- 
petent. There  has  developed  during  the  past  few 
years  a  great  demand  for  teachers  of  art  In  the 
common  schools.  These  usually  receive  higher 
wages  than  are  paid  to  the  teachers  of  ordinary 
subjects. 

In  the  field  of  pure  art,  success  comes  but  slowly. 
A  person  must  be  classed  almost  as  a  master  be- 
fore he  receives  any  great  recognition.  It  Is  usually 
necessary  for  those  who  wish  to  follow  art  to  spend 
considerable  of  their  time  doing  work  that  pays; 
this  does  not  leave  them  the  time  needed  for  rapid 
progress  in  pure  art. 


106         The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

Music. — Music  Is  probably  the  most  universal 
method  of  expression.  The  savage  of  the  wilder- 
ness has  musical  instruments,  and  he  has  learned  to 
use  his  voice  in  expressing  his  emotions  in  song. 
Every  grade  of  society  up  to  the  most  cultured  and 
learned  has  its  music.  People,  practically  without 
exception,  enjoy  hearing  music  even  though  they  do 
not  have  ability  to  produce  it  themselves. 

Music,  as  a  vocation,  must  be  confined  to  com- 
paratively few.  There  are  in  the  United  States 
about  92,000  musicians  and  teachers  of  music. 
Many  of  these  spend  only  part  of  their  time  in  this 
field. 

A  musician  should  be  refined  and  artistic;  he 
should  have  a  good  ear  and,  if  a  singer,  a  good 
voice.  He  must  have  patience  and  perseverance  and 
be  willing  to  devote  years  to  diligent  study  and 
practise. 

There  is  a  constant  demand  for  proficient  music 
teachers  since  the  subject  requires  considerable  indi- 
vidual instruction.  The  compensation  is  usually 
good  for  those  having  ability,  individual  performers 
often  receiving  very  high  salaries.  To  make  the 
greatest  financial  success  in  music  as  in  anything 
else  business  ability  is  necessary. 

The  refinement  and  real  pleasure  accompanying 
the  rendering  and  hearing  of  good  music  make  it  a 
desirable  feature  in  every  home.     All  should  learn 


Art  107 

to  appreciate  music  and  should  know  something 
about  it  although  but  few  care  to  make  it  a  life's 
vocation. 

Music  is  a  jealous  mistress;  she  demands  the  entire 
attention  of  those  who  would  succeed  by  her  charms. 
The  great  singers  of  the  world  have  to  deny  them- 
selves all  kinds  of  pleasures  in  order  to  keep  in 
proper  condition.  They  must  be  extremely  careful 
of  their  diet  and  must  avoid  excesses  of  all  kinds. 

A  voice  is  not  the  only  requirement  for  a  great 
singer.  A  good  head  and  ability  to  do  almost  an 
endless  amount  of  hard  work,  amounting  sometimes 
to  drudgery,  must  accompany  the  musical  talent. 

The  Stage. — In  1900,  there  were  in  the  United 
States  34,760  persons  engaged  in  theatrical  per- 
formances. This  was  more  than  were  engaged  in 
either  dentistry  or  architecture,  and  nearly  as  many 
as  in  engineering. 

Actors,  as  a  rule,  do  not  make  high  wages,  al- 
though a  few  who  have  attained  eminence  receive 
vary  high  salaries.  The  stage  often  appeals  to 
young  people  on  account  of  the  opportunity  to  travel, 
and  because  they  are  constantly  brought  before  the 
public.  The  fact  that  there  is  no  chance  for  settled 
home  life  makes  it  very  unattractive  to  many  people 
who  are  more  mature. 

Acting  is  one  of  the  oldest  of  the  arts,  and,  at 
times   in   the  world's   history,   it  has   been   held   in 


108  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

high  repute  as  a  profession.  It  affords  wonderful 
opportunity  for  the  expression  of  human  nature  and 
it  may  be  used  as  a  source  of  great  uplift  to 
mankind. 


CHAPTER  XV 

MINING 

Importance  of  Alining. — -It  is  often  said  that  all 
the  industries  are  based  on  agriculture  and  mining. 
Certain  it  is  that  civilization  could  not  be  in  a  very- 
advanced  state  without  the  metals  that  are  fur- 
nished by  the  mines.  In  the  history  of  man,  his 
advancement  is  marked  by  his  ability  to  use  the 
products  of  mining.  First  came  the  stone  age  when 
no  metals  were  used,  and  progress  was  slow  prior 
to  the  time  when  the  use  of  copper,  iron,  silver,  and 
gold  was  discovered. 

The  materials  employed  by  man  in  making  tools 
with  which  to  work,  in  constructing  transportation 
facilities,  and  in  building  houses  are  taken  largely 
from  the  mines.  Cheap  methods  of  removing  metals 
from  the  earth  and  extracting  them  from  their  ores 
make  possible  the  necessities,  conveniences,  and  lux- 
uries of  modern  civilization. 

Kinds  of  Minifig. — Mining  is  usually  divided  into 
two  classes,  depending  on  the  kind  of  deposit.  In 
the  one  class  such  materials  as  iron  ore,  coal,  and 
salt  are  found  in  horizontal  beds.     In  other  classes 

109 


110  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

the  ore  is  found  in  veins,  or  lodes.  The  method  of 
mining  is  entirely  different  for  these  two  classes. 

Ore  usually  occurs  in  the  mountains  at  some  dis- 
tance from  centers  of  population  and  it  is  there  that 
the  mining  camp  must  be  built.  This  often  con- 
sists of  a  town  made  up  almost  entirely  of  those 
connected  either  directly  or  indirectly  with  the  mines. 
The  existence  of  the  community  depends  on  the 
duration  of  the  body  of  ore,  and  when  this  is  gone 
the  settlement  is  abandoned.  In  some  cases  other 
industries  spring  up,  making  the  community  per- 
manent. 

The  People  Who  Mine. — -In  the  United  States, 
there  are  more  than  half  a  million  men  engaged 
directly  in  the  business  of  mining.  Most  of  these 
are  the  miners  who  work  for  wages;  but  a  great 
many  of  them  are  owners,  foremen,  engineers,  and 
others  with  large  responsibility.  The  man  who 
works  in  the  mines  as  a  laborer  needs  a  strong  body, 
coupled  with  a  fair  amount  of  intelligence.  If  he 
possesses  these  and  is  faithful  in  his  work,  he  will 
have  no  difficulty  in  getting  along  after  having  a 
little  experience. 

Those  who  have  charge  of  mining  operations 
should  have  good  judgment,  and  they  must  have 
sufficient  self  confidence  to  carry  out  their  ideas. 
One  man  who  has  become  wealthy  as  a  mine  oper- 
tor  lists  the  desirable  personal  qualities  of  those 
engaged  in  the  mining  business  as  follows:    "Cour- 


Mining  111 

age,  patience,  and  perseverance  to  execute;  thorough- 
ness, keen  observation  and  ability  to  correlate  data 
and  evidence,  so  as  to  construct  sound  working 
theories;  and  ability  to  organize  and  systematize, 
so  as  to  operate  efficiently."  Another  successful  mine 
owner  says:  "One  certainly  has  to  use  his  own 
judgment,  otherwise  he  would  be  talked  into  more 
wild-cat  schemes  than  a  few." 

Mark  Twain  says  the  definition  of  a  mine  is  a 
big  hole  in  the  ground  and  the  owner  thereof  a  liar. 
There  are  so  many  fake  mining  schemes  and  so 
many  opportunities  for  deception  in  mining  that  it 
may  seem  from  the  outside  that  dishonesty  is  part 
of  the  game.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  is  no  busi- 
ness where  honesty  is  more  necessary  than  in  legiti- 
mate mining. 

Preparation  for  Mining. — The  work  of  a  mine 
laborer  requires  very  little  preparation  outside  of 
experience;  but  to  be  an  expert  in  mining  requires 
years  of  study  and  considerable  practical  experience. 
In  addition  to  a  general  education,  special  atten- 
tion should  be  given  to  geology,  engineering,  and 
business.  Courses  in  these  subjects  obtained  at 
college  will  be  of  great  help,  but  the  real  training 
must  be  had  in  the  University  of  Experience.  The 
young  man  fresh  from  college  who  wishes  to  be- 
come an  expert  in  mining  should,  for  a  number  of 
years,  strive  to  get  experience  rather  than  to  make 
money.     It  is  better  to  work  in  a  number  of  camps 


112  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

in  order  to  become  acquainted  with  various 
conditions. 

Compensation  i?i  Alining. —  Wages  in  mining 
average  higher  than  in  most  other  occupations,  but 
it  also  costs  more  to  live.  Men  of  extraordinary 
ability  command  very  high  salaries.  Exceptionally 
good  men  are  scarce  in  mining  just  as  in  every  other 
industry.  Most  of  the  rich  men  of  the  West  have 
acquired  their  wealth  in  mining;  at  the  same  time 
many  fortunes  have  been  lost  in  the  business. 

One  trouble  is  that  the  money  comes  so  easily 
its  value  is  not  appreciated  and  it  is  likely  to  be 
squandered.  The  author  was  once  talking  with  a 
miner  who  sold  a  prospect  for  ^15,000.  He  said 
that  at  the  end  of  three  months  he  did  not  have  a 
cent  left.  "But,"  he  added,  "I  tell  you  I  had  a  good 
time  while  it  lasted."  This  is  too  often  the  case 
with  the  money  obtained  so  easily. 

Opportunities  in  Mining. — John  Dern,  President 
of  the  American  Mining  Congress,  writes  regarding 
opportunities  in  mining:  "The  days  of  prospecting 
and  finding  a  bonanza  in  the  United  States  are 
almost  past.  Large-scale  operations,  or  new  proc- 
esses offer  most  of  the  opportunities  to-day.  There 
are  plenty  of  chances  for  the  man  who  has  the  gift 
of  vision,  the  scientific  knowledge,  the  executive  and 
business  ability,  and  the  energy.  But  getting  rich 
over  night  in  mining  will  be  less  frequent  in  the 
future  than  it  has  been  in  the  past. 


Mining  113 

"A  gambler  or  plunger  sometimes  makes  a  suc- 
cess in  mining,  but  generally  he  goes  broke.  Mining 
should  be  conducted  on  careful,  conservative,  scien- 
tific lines,  and  when  so  conducted  there  is  bound  to 
be  some  degree  of  success.  There  is  always  an 
element  of  chance  that  is  fascinating,  but  the  miner 
who  makes  the  real  success  is  the  one  who  discounts 
luck,  and  who  figures  on  coming  out  ahead  without 
the  aid  of  luck." 


CHAPTER  XVI 

RESEARCH    AND    INVENTION 

Meaning  of  Research. — Diligent  investigation  for 
the  purpose  of  finding  a  truth  or  establishing  a  law 
may  be  considered  as  research;  which  also  implies 
study  in  an  unexplored  field  of  knowledge  for  the 
purpose  of  increasing  human  understanding.  Man- 
kind has  only  begun  to  explore  the  laws  of  the  uni- 
verse. The  wonderful  works  of  nature  are  before 
us  every  hour  of  the  day,  yet  man  with  his  limi- 
tations is  able  to  comprehend  but  slowly.  The  dis- 
covery of  even  the  simpler  laws  of  the  natural  world 
has  often  required  years  of  untiring  investigation. 
During  the  early  history  of  mankind,  but  little  atten- 
tion was  given  to  research;  hence  development  was 
slow.  The  last  century,  on  the  other  hand,  has 
been  a  time  of  discovery  in  every  line,  and,  as  a 
result,  more  progress  was  made  than  during  all  the 
previous  thousands  of  years  that  the  earth  has  been 
inhabited  by  man. 

To  illustrate  the  methods  of  getting  at  informa- 
tion in  the  older  times,  the  story  is  told  of  two 
feudal  lords  who  got  into  a  dispute  about  the  number 

114 


Research  and  Invention  115 

of  teeth  in  a  horse's  mouth.  They  consulted  Aris- 
totle and  all  the  other  writers  on  the  subject,  and 
each  brought  forward  information  that  had  been 
handed  down  from  father  to  son,  but  the  dispute 
grew  warmer  and  warmer.  Each  lord  gathered  his 
retainers  around  him,  and  soon  a  battle  ensued. 
After  a  number  of  lives  had  been  lost  some  one 
suggested  that  the  question  could  be  settled  by  exam- 
ining a  horse's  mouth.  This  was  done  and  the  truth 
at  once  made  clear. 

This  circumstance  probably  never  happened,  but 
it  illustrates  the  lack  of  the  scientific  spirit  that 
existed  during  the  dark  ages.  In  our  day  when  any 
question  of  this  kind  arises,  the  first  thought  is  to  go 
directly  to  the  source  of  information.  If  we  want 
to  know  anything  about  an  animal,  we  study  the 
animal  itself.  If  information  is  needed  regarding 
a  disease,  the  disease  is  given  careful  investigation. 

At  the  close  of  the  15th  century,  Columbus  had 
great  difficulty  to  interest  any  one  in  fitting  out  an 
expedition  to  find  a  short  cut  to  India.  Every  one 
seemed  satisfied  to  let  the  great  unknown  take  care 
of  itself.  To-day  the  keenest  interest  is  shown  in 
any  new  research.  Wealthy  men  give  fortunes,  and 
scientists  devote  their  lives  to  the  work  of  discovery. 

Importance  of  Research. — The  discovery  of  new 
truth  lies  at  the  very  foundation  of  human  progress. 
If  there  were  no  expansion  of  knowledge,  there 
would  be  a  stagnation  in  the  progress  of  civilization. 


116  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

The  researches  of  Pasteur  in  bacteriology  and  their 
application  by  Lister  to  surgery  have  absolutely 
transformed  the  methods  of  treating  disease  with  a 
consequent  saving  of  human  life  that  can  hardly  be 
estimated. 

Great  industries  like  the  manufacture  of  steel  and 
its  utilization  for  the  welfare  of  man  have  been 
made  possible  through  the  untiring  labors  of  science. 
In  agriculture,  research  has  made  possible  the  con- 
trol of  pests  that  in  earlier  times  well  nigh  caused 
famine  over  the  entire  land.  Such  conveniences  as 
the  steam  and  the  gasoline  engine,  electric  light  and 
power,  the  telegraph  and  telephone,  and  numerous 
other  utilities  testify  to  the  service  rendered  the 
world  by  the  man  of  research. 

The  Man  of  Research. — -Discovery  is  not  so  ex- 
clusive in  her  demands  as  to  prevent  any  one  from 
courting  her.  It  is  true  that  some  are  much  better 
suited  to  make  investigations  than  others;  but  any 
one  who  has  power  to  observe  closely  and  the  hon- 
esty to  record  his  observations  correctly,  may  make 
progress  in  the  study  of  nature  and  her  laws. 

Absolute  honesty  is  probably  the  most  important 
single  requirement  in  the  man  of  science.  He  who 
steals  money  takes  a  thing  that  is  easily  replaced. 
It  often  matters  but  little  whether  the  thief  or  the 
real  owner  possesses  it; -but  he  who  wilfully  dis- 
torts an  investigation  and  promulgates  an  untruth 
in  science  commits  an  offence  against  mankind  that 


Research  and  InveJition  117 

should  be  given  the  highest  condemnation.  Not  only 
are  the  money  and  time  spent  in  the  investigation 
wasted,  but  the  discovery  of  the  real  truth  may  be 
greatly  delayed. 

An  investigator  should  be  industrious  in  order  to 
get  through  with  the  great  amount  of  routine  inci- 
dent to  such  work.  He  should  have  vision  to  see 
possibilities  and  imagination  to  project  hypotheses 
in  order  to  find  clues  on  which  to  work.  He  must 
be  able  to  analyze  his  data  and  to  correlate  facts, 
otherwise  he  may  work  on  blindly  without  knowing 
•what  he  is  accomplishing. 

Mechanical  ability  is  of  great  advantage  to  one 
doing  research,  since  new  kinds  of  apparatus  must 
often  be  devised  and  constructed.  Difficulties  are 
constantly  arising  that  must  be  met.  It  is  often  just 
this  ability  to  overcome  the  many  obstacles  that 
makes  the  difference  between  success  and  failure. 

The  man  who  does  research  work  must  have 
great  patience  and  ability  to  stick  at  a  task.  The 
fact  that  a  truth  has  not  been  discovered  implies 
some  difficulty,  otherwise  some  one  would  have  found 
it  before.  Nature  will  instruct  those  who  study 
diligently,  but  she  remains  utterly  silent  to  the  man 
who  is  not  willing  to  listen  long  and  hard. 

Preparing  for  Investigation. — The  man  who  does 
research  should  be  thoroughly  prepared  in  order  to 
do  his  work  as  effectively  as  possible.  True,  a  num- 
ber of  men   like  Edison  have   made  great  records 


118         The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

without  a  wide  training  in  science,  but  they  were 
handicapped  and  often  considerably  delayed  by  their 
lack  of  information.  In  order  to  discover  some- 
thing new,  a  person  should  be  familiar  with  what 
has  already  been  discovered,  otherwise  he  will  spend 
his  energies  following  in  other  men's  steps. 

During  later  years  the  investigations  of  science 
have  advanced  to  such  a  stage  that  it  requires  con- 
siderable study  in  order  to  be  prepared  to  do  real 
research.  In  the  days  of  Benjamin  Franklin  nothing 
at  all  was  known  about  the  properties  of  electricity; 
hence  any  simple  studies  he  made  contributed  to  the 
knowledge  of  man  regarding  this  wonderful  force, 
but  now  so  many  investigations  have  been  made 
that  a  person  must  be  well  trained  if  he  contributes 
anything  new. 

The  inventor  of  a  new  mechanical  device  in  the 
old  days  simply  worked  and  tested  in  a  haphazard 
manner  till  he  succeeded  in  making  his  machine  prac- 
tical. To-day  he  saves  much  work  and  energy  by 
his  knowledge  of  physics  and  mechanics.  Many  men 
possessing  real  inventive  genius  never  accomplish 
anything  worth  while  simply  because  they  lack  the 
training.  Their  entire  energies  are  used  up  testing 
principles  that  could  be  proved  directly  by  mathe- 
matics and  physics. 

The  preparation  for  research  can  best  be  ob- 
tained in  one  of  the  regular  colleges.  After  a  person 
has  learned  the  fundamentals,  he  can  consult  with 


Research  and  Invention  119 

his  instructors  regarding  the  special  work  to  be  done 
in  the  field  of  research  he  wishes  to  enter. 

Opportunities  for  Investigation. — Never  in  the 
history  of  the  world  have  conditions  been  so  favor- 
able for  research  in  any  line  as  they  are  to-day. 
Many  of  the  fundamental  laws  of  science  have  been 
discovered;  the  fruit  that  is  easy  to  get  has  been 
picked,  but  often  the  best  fruit  is  that  growing  out  on 
the  ends  of  the  branches. 

The  agencies  of  research  are  usually  connected 
with  some  public  institution  or  some  industrial  enter- 
prise. In  the  United  States  Department  of  Agri- 
culture and  the  State  Experiment  Stations,  thousands 
of  men  are  constantly  employed  to  investigate  the 
laws  underlying  agriculture.  Other  government  and 
state  departments  also  maintain  research  staffs. 
Practically  all  of  the  universities  of  note  in  the  coun- 
try set  aside  funds  for  research.  Many  of  the  great 
industries  have  a  force  of  trained  experts  who  do 
nothing  but  make  investigations  relating  to  the 
industry. 

The  salaries  paid  for  men  to  do  research  are 
often  very  high.  Of  course  there  are  many  well- 
trained  assistants  whose  pay  is  moderate,  but  if 
they  have  the  qualifications  they  can  alm.ost  always 
work  into  a  good  position. 

Most  any  man  who  has  had  a  taste  of  real  re- 
search likes  it  the  best  of  any  work  he  has  ever 
done.     The  joy  that  comes  as  a  result  of  discovering 


120  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

some  law  after  months  or  years  of  patient  investi- 
gation cannot  be  realized  except  by  those  who  have 
actually  experienced  it.  Next  to  being  an  actual 
creator,  probably  the  greatest  work  in  the  world  is 
that  of  studying  the  works  of  the  Creator  of  all 
good.  The  tracing  of  His  handiwork  throughout 
all  the  realm  of  nature  is  an  occupation  that  gives 
unexpressible  satisfaction. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

JOURNALISM    AND    AUTHORSHIP 

The  Power  oj  the  Press. — This  is  a  day  of  the 
newspaper.  All  people  are  not  readers  of  books, 
but  in  civilized  countries  there  are  very  few  indeed 
who  do  not  read  the  papers  regularly.  The  country 
paper  is  probably  the  most  potent  factor  in  mold- 
ing public  opinion  in  rural  districts,  while  the  great 
city  dailies  have  their  influence  the  country  over. 
That  "the  pen  is  mightier  than  the  sword"  has  been 
recognized  by  such  military  leaders  as  Napoleon  who 
would  rather  have  an  important  newspaper  on  his 
side  than  an  army  of  men. 

Some  papers  adopt  the  policy  of  simply  giving  the 
news  without  color  or  comment,  while  others  use 
the  news  as  a  means  of  reaching  desired  ends  and  of 
forwarding  their  purposes.  Everything  that  goes 
into  the  paper  is  colored  with  the  ideas  of  the  man- 
agement. The  newspaper  is  used  as  an  instrument  of 
politics  probably  more  than  for  any  other  single 
purpose. 

The  Function  of  a  Newspaper. — "So  common  an 
object  as  a  newspaper,"  says  Dibble  in   his  book 

121 


122         The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

entitled  "The  Newspaper,"  "is  seldom  the  subject 
of  serious  reflection.  If  any  one  of  us  should  stop  to 
consider  what  it  is  and  why  it  is  made,  it  is  odd  that" 
he  would  think  chiefly  of  one  aspect  of  it  to  the 
general  exclusion  of  the  others.  The  curious  man 
might  reflect  in  surprise  on  the  vast  amount  of  mere 
reading  matter  turned  out  regularly  every  morning 
with  perhaps  only  half  a  dozen  literal  mistakes, 
on  the  variety  of  typesetting  and  the  amount  of 
printing,  often  more  than  sufficient  to  make  a  large- 
sized  book.  The  manufacturer  would  direct  his 
imagination  to  the  efficient  machinery  necessary  to 
produce  perhaps  3,000  copies  a  minute  or  to  the 
practised  organization,  able  to  distribute  them  as 
fast  as  they  are  printed.  The  business  man  would 
think  chiefly  of  a  newspaper  as  a  vehicle  for  prices 
and  a  medium  for  advertising.  Cooks,  butlers, 
clerks,  and  governesses  look  upon  it  as  a  daily 
registry  office.  The  solicitor  sells  houses  and  lands 
through  it.  Housewives  through  it  sometimes  buy 
their  soaps  and  more  often  their  hats.  Actors, 
singers,  authors,  artists,  and  musicians  each  read 
their  special  column  and  wonder  when  the  editor 
intends  to  engage  some  one  really  acquainted  with 
the  only  subject  worth  reading.  The  politician  will 
read  its  leading  articles  with  smirking  assent  or  ex- 
plosive repudiation.  Last  of  all  comes  the  general 
reader,  and  he  asks  nothing  more  of  his  newspaper 
than  all  the  news  of  everywhere,  collected  at  great 


Journalism  and  Authorship  123 

cost,  transcribed  with  finished  skill,  and  presented  to 
him  in  just  the  way  which  pleases  and  flatters  him 
most.     All  of  them  are  not  scrupulously  satisfied." 

The  Newspaper  Man. — "Newspaper  reporting," 
says  William  Drysdale,  "is  an  ever-open  door  for 
the  young  men  who  are  fitted  for  it.  Who  are  fitted 
for  it,  mark  you;  and  it  is  the  requisite  of  fitness  that 
keeps  the  door  constantly  open.  The  thousands  of 
newspapers  require  tens  of  thousands  of  reporters, 
and  there  is  always  a  chance  for  good  ones.  But 
with  equal  certainty  good  ones  must  be  ready  to 
give  way  to  better  ones,  and  better  to  best.  It  is 
the  best  reporters  only  who  can  hope  for  permanent 
positions. 

"In  no  other  calling  does  a  young  man  find  his 
level  so  rapidly.  In  a  month  often,  sometimes  a 
week,  a  new  reporter  may  be  ranked  among  the 
dullards  who  do  drudgery  for  small  pay,  or  among 
the  *crack'  men  who  do  the  best  work  and  make 
more  money  than  most  of  the  editors.  This  possi- 
bility of  immediate  success  is  one  of  the  great  attrac- 
tions of  the  work,  almost  as  great  as  the  oppor- 
tunity to  see  life,  to  take  part  in  passing  events,  to 
make  the  acquaintance  of  famous  people. 

"Many  a  new  reporter  has  sprung  at  a  bound  to 
what  seemed  to  be  the  very  top  of  the  ladder  by 
writing  unusually  brilliant  or  witty  articles,  and  at 
the  end  of  a  few  weeks  has  been  dropped  incon- 
tinently because  he  was  not  trustworthy,  because  he 


124  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

could  not  be  depended  upon.  No  brilliancy,  no 
rapidity  or  activity  on  the  part  of  a  reporter  can 
make  up  for  want  of  integrity  and  care." 

Charles  A.  Dana  in  his  great  lecture  on  "The 
Making  of  a  Newspaper  Man"  gives  the  following 
advice  to  the  young  man  beginning  the  business: 

"1.  Get  the  news,  get  all  the  news,  and  nothing 
but  the  news. 

"2.  Copy  nothing  from  another  publication  with- 
out perfect  credit. 

"3.  Never  print  an  interview  without  the  knowl- 
edge and  consent  of  the  party  interviewed. 

"4.  Never  print  a  paid  advertisement  as  news 
matter.  Let  every  advertisement  appear  as  an  ad- 
vertisement; no  sailing  under  false  colors. 

"5.  Never  attack  the  weak  or  defenceless,  either 
by  argument,  by  invective,  or  by  ridicule,  unless  there 
is  some  absolute  public  necessity  for  so  doing. 

"6.  Fight  for  your  opinions,  but  do  not  believe 
them  to  contain  the  whole  truth  or  the  only  truth. 

"7.  Support  your  party  if  you  have  one,  but  do 
not  think  that  all  the  good  men  are  in  it  or  that  all 
the  bad  ones  outside  of  it. 

"8.  Above  all,  believe  and  know  that  humanity  is 
advancing;  that  there  is  progress  in  human  life  and 
human  affairs,  and  that  as  sure  as  God  lives  the 
future  will  be  greater  and  better  than  the  past  or 
the  present." 

Opportunities   in   Journalism. — There    are    in    the 


Journalism  and  Authorship  125 

United  States  over  thirty  thousand  persons  engaged 
in  journalistic  work,  in  addition  to  printers,  lithogra- 
phers, and  pressmen,  of  which  there  are  more  than 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand.  This  number  will 
probably  continue  to  increase. 

Newspaper  work  is  strenuous  and  confining. 
There  is  no  chance  to  shirk  without  being  detected. 
One  working  on  a  newspaper  has  an  excellent  oppor- 
tunity to  mix  in  the  activities  of  the  community  and 
to  keep  himself  posted  on  local  and  national  affairs. 
He  must  be  a  "live  wire"  or  get  out  of  the  game. 

If  a  man  has  a  "nose  for  news"  and  likes  the 
work,  there  is  an  opportunity  for  him  to  rise  in  the 
newspaper  business  just  as  fast  as  his  ability  in- 
creases. On  a  country  paper,  he  must  learn  every 
phase  of  the  work  from  the  "printers'  devil"  to  the 
editor.  He  should  have  experience  in  the  mechan- 
ical, the  news,  and  the  editorial  departments.  The 
boy  entering  the  printing  department  may,  if  he  is 
ambitious,  work  up  through  the  business  and  be- 
come editor  or  manager,  or  he  may  develop  into  an 
author.  The  work  on  a  city  paper  is  more  special- 
ized from  the  first.  A  young  man  may  begin  in  one 
department  and  work  on  for  years  without  learning 
much  about  the  others. 

There  is  a  wonderful  opportunity  in  journalistic 
work  for  a  person  to  do  a  great  deal  of  good.  He 
can  get  a  message  before  the  public  as  in  no  other 
way.     He  is  in  a  position  to  expose  shams,  and  to 


126         The  Young  Man  and  His   Vocation 

censure  corrupt  practise,  and  likewise  to  commend 
the  good. 

Authorship. — No  young  man  who  looks  toward 
literature  as  a  career  need  be  discouraged  by  the 
great  number  of  writers.  If  there  are  many  writers, 
there  are  also  many  publishers  and  many  readers. 
The  opportunities  have  never  been  better  than  to-day 
for  those  who  can  write  well. 

Writing  is  not  confined  to  the  use  of  good  English, 
although  this  is  important.  It  is  the  message  to  be 
conveyed  that  counts.  If  a  person  has  something 
to  say  to  the  public  he  should  not  hesitate  on  ac- 
count of  language,  but  should  write  it  down  in  the 
best  possible  way;  he  can  then  correct  till  as  many 
as  possible  of  the  imperfections  are  eliminated. 
After  the  first  few  attempts,  composition  will  be 
much  easier. 

The  young  writer  should  not  be  discouraged  if 
his  manuscripts  are  rejected  by  the  publishers.  The 
best  writers  have  had  the  same  experience.  Look 
through  the  rejected  article  or  story  to  see  where  it 
could  be  improved  and  the  next  time  profit  by  the 
mistakes. 

It  is  a  great  pity  that  more  young  people  do  not 
write  for  publication.  Many  of  them  have  talent 
that  remains  hidden  forever  because  the  posses- 
sors are  over  modest,  or  do  not  want  to  put  forth 
the  necessary  effort.  Even  if  one  does  not  wish 
to  make  a  business  of  literature,  a  little  writing  is  a 


Journalism  and  Authorship  127 

great  stimulator  to  one's  mentality.  Clear,  accurate 
thinking  is  one  of  the  results  of  composition.  A 
good  beginning  can  be  made  by  contributing  unpre- 
tentious articles  to  local  papers  and  magazines,  then 
as  confidence  is  gained,  more  difficult  literary  tasks 
may  be  undertaken. 


PART  II 

RELATION  OF  THE  YOUNG  MAN 
TO  HIS  WORK 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


CHOOSING    A    VOCATION 


Stumbling  into  a  Vocation. — One  of  the  saddest 
things  in  the  world  is  the  sight  of  a  young  man  wan- 
dering aimlessly  through  life  with  no  definite  occu- 
pation, hoping  that  some  day  he  will  stumble  into  a 
soft  snap  that  will  solve  the  question  of  making  a 
living.  The  work  he  is  doing  came  to  him  by  chance 
and  he  will  continue  doing  the  same  thing  till  chance 
turns  him  in  some  other  direction.  He  is  in  no 
sense  master  of  himself  or  of  his  destiny,  but  drifts 
about  like  a  piece  of  bark  tossed  from  wave  to  wave 
on  the  high  seas.  Man  was  placed  on  the  earth  to 
subdue  it,  and  he  should  have  sufficient  force  of 
character  to  determine  what  part  he  will  play  in  the 
world's  work.  If  he  does  not  act  for  himself  and 
develop  initiative  of  his  own,  he  is  no  better  than 
the  beasts  of  the  field. 

The  misfits  that  are  so  common  in  the  industrial 
world  are  usually  due  to  the  fact  that  sufficient  atten- 
tion was  not  given  to  the  choice  of  a  vocation.  The 
reason  men  do  not  like  to  work  is  that  they  are  not 
engaged  in  the  right  pursuit.     A  job  was  open  to 

131 


132  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

them  and  they  kept  it  as  long  as  it  would  pay;  then 
they  drifted  to  something  else. 

The  young  man  who  would  marry  the  first  girl  he 
happened  to  meet  without  giving  the  subject  any 
thought  would  be  considered  very  foolish  indeed; 
yet  the  choice  of  an  occupation  by  accident  is  let  pass 
without  the  least  notice,  probably  because  it  is  so 
common. 

Vocational  Guidance. — At  the  age  when  a  young 
man  should  choose  a  career,  he  has  usually  had  but 
little  experience  and  feels  himself  unable  to  make  an 
intelligent  choice.  He  probably  has  traveled  but 
little,  and  his  time  has  been  spent  doing  only  a  few 
kinds  of  work.  He  very  likely  does  not  know  much 
about  the  possibilities  even  of  the  work  he  is  most 
familiar  with.  He  must  stand  looking  blankly  into 
the  future  saying,  "What  shall  I  do,  what  shall 
I  do.?" 

His  ideas  regarding  various  kinds  of  work  are 
distorted.  He  fails  to  understand  true  values.  The 
little,  unimportant  considerations  may  be  all  he  can 
see.  The  opportunity  of  the  commercial  traveler  to 
live  on  the  train  may  attract  a  boy  to  that  occupation, 
when  in  reality  traveling  is  one  of  its  greatest  disad- 
vantages. The  white  collar  and  clean  hands  of  the 
bank  clerk  may  appeal  so  strongly  to  the  young  man 
that  any  disadvantages  of  the  work  are  entirely 
overlooked.  It  is,  therefore,  very  desirable  for 
young  people  to  be  guided  and  given  help  in  their 


Choosing  a  Vocation  133 

choice  of  a  vocat:on.  This  does  not  imply  that  the 
counselor  should,  without  thought,  dictate  what  occu- 
pation should  be  fol!owed,  or  even  that  the  parents 
without  due  consideration  should  say  that  one  child 
should  be  a  doctor,  one  a  lawyer,  one  a  teacher,  and 
one  a  business  man  in  order  that  all  the  professions 
would  be  represented  in  the  family.  Co-operation 
between  the  boy  and  those  who  would  guide  him  is 
the  only  safe  way.  His  likes  and  adaptation  should 
be  given  full  weight.  Older  persons  can  use  various 
methods  of  studying  these  likes  and  adaptations  and 
can  also  inform  the  boy  on  matters  with  which  he  is 
not  acquainted.  The  young  man  is  usually  anxious 
to  receive  help  in  this  way.  He  realizes  that  the 
way  he  gets  started  in  life  is  important  and  he  is 
ready  for  assistance. 

The  vocational  guidance  of  the  youth  is  one  of 
the  most  important  kinds  of  work  that  can  be  under- 
taken by  any  community.  The  welfare  of  the  com- 
munity in  years  to  come  will  be  affected  by  the  choice 
of  occupations  of  the  young  men  who  are  at  present 
growing  up.  When  society  comes  to  recognize  this 
important  truth,  it  will  be  considered  almost  criminal 
to  allow  a  youth  of  promise  to  stumble  into  a  voca- 
tion without  receiving  assistance  from  those  prepared 
to  give  advice. 

Broad  Preliminary  Training. — It  is  rarely  possi- 
ble for  a  boy  at  an  early  age  to  decide  what  line 
would  be  best  for  him  to  follow.     He  must,  there- 


134  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

fore,  make  his  training  so  broad  that  it  will  be  of 
service  to  him  in  any  kind  of  work.  Certain  funda- 
mentals in  education  are  needed  by  every  one,  and 
these  should  be  the  branches  that  are  given  most 
study  during  the  years  of  indecision.  Even  when 
one  is  pretty  certain  what  profession  he  will  adopt, 
he  should  not  confine  himself  to  studying  it  too  early, 
or  he  is  likely  to  be  narrow  in  his  outlook  on  life 
and  lack  the  proper  sympathy  for  the  work  of  others. 
Considerations  That  Count. — In  looking  over  the 
various  paths  open  to  him,  the  young  man  should 
consider  the  big  things  that  really  count  before  mak- 
ing his  decision.  He  and  his  work  will  be  compan- 
ions during  his  entire  life,  and  he  should  be  sure  that 
it  is  the  kind  of  companion  that  will  be  entirely 
agreeable.  A  young  lady  in  selecting  a  husband,  or 
a  young  man  in  selecting  a  wife,  often  decides  on 
trivial  matters  to  their  great  sorrow  later.  One  girl 
confessed  that  the  ability  of  a  young  man  to  dance 
well  was  what  induced  her  to  marry  him.  After 
marriage,  she  found  that  his  dancing  Was  not  suffi- 
cient to  make  the  home  happy.  The  couple  had 
nothing  in  common  and  divorce  was  the  inevitable 
result.  She  had  paid  no  attention  to  the  real  quali- 
ties of  manhood  and  companionsh'p,  but  had  based 
everything  on  a  trivial  matter  that  could  have  little 
to  do  with  their  domestic  happiness.  Thus  it  is 
likely  to  be  in  the  choice  of  a  vocation  unless  great 
care  is  exercised. 


Choosing  a  Vocation  135 

A  liking  for  the  work  is  one  of  the  most  important 
considerations.  If  the  actual  work  to  be  done  is 
distasteful,  it  will  be  difficult  to  be  entirely  happy 
even  though  other  things  are  favorable.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  one  enjoys  every  hour  of  his  work, 
that  fact  will  make  up  for  many  undesirable  things 
about  it. 

While  money  should  not  be  the  chief  thought,  yet 
one  makes  a  living  through  his  vocation  and  he  must 
engage  in  something  that  will  pay.  Probably  the 
money  side  is  more  often  overestimated  than  under- 
estimated. Men  can  be  induced  to  do  most  any 
kind  of  work  provided  they  receive  enough  money. 

The  opportunities  for  advancement  in  a  business 
are  very  important  to  the  young  man.  A  salary  of 
eight  hundred  dollars  with  a  chance  to  grow  and  the 
prospect  of  a  steady  raise  would  be  better  than  a 
position  paying  a  thousand  dollars  where  there  was 
no  chance  for  advancement. 

The  effect  of  a  vocation  on  the  individual  and  his 
family  is  very  often  overlooked  in  choosing  a  life's 
work;  yet  this  is  probably  the  most  far-reaching  con- 
sideration. Many  young  men  were  induced  to  work 
in  the  Delamar  mines  in  Nevada  because  the  wages 
were  high.  It  was  known  that  the  dust  would  injure 
their  health.  The  high  pay,  however,  was  a  greater 
temptation  than  they  could  resist.  Practically  every 
man  who  worked  there  for  any  length  of  time  died 
early  from  the  effects  of  the  dust  breathed.     There 


136  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

are  a  number  of  vocations  that  do  not  pay  well  in 
money,  yet  their  effects  on  those  working  in  them 
are  favorable  in  a  number  of  ways.  These  vocations 
should  not  be  judged  entirely  from  the  wages 
they  pay. 

The  Commonplace  vs.  the  Spectacular. — There  is 
a  tendency  for  young  people  to  look  with  favor  on 
the  spectacular  and  grand  and  to  depreciate  the  ordi- 
nary things  of  life.  It  often  takes  years  of  experi- 
ence in  the  world  to  realize  that  the  commonplace, 
everyday  things  are  the  ones  that  are  usually  best, 
and  that  it  is  with  them  that  most  of  us  will  have 
to  deal. 

Boys  dream  of  becoming  presidents,  governors, 
senators,  military  leaders,  or  most  anything  that  will 
bring  them  before  the  public  gaze.  In  fact,  there 
is  a  stage  in  most  boys'  lives  when  they  think  the 
brass  band  parade  of  the  circus  clown  to  be  the  most 
desirable  of  pursuits.  Fortunately  many  of  these 
ideas  have  been  outgrown  before  young  men  have 
to  choose  their  work. 

Some  would-be  inspirers  of  the  young  seem  to 
think  their  chief  duty  in  life  is  to  make  young  men 
dissatisfied  with  doing  the  common  things.  They 
would  have  a  boy  believe  he  is  neglecting  opportuni- 
ties if  he  is  satisfied  to  do  farm  work  when  he  might 
wait  on  the  table  of  a  fashionable  cafe  where  gay 
life  can  be  seen  and  fine  music  heard.  Some  there 
are  who  would  have  the  boy  believe  the  chief  thing 


Choosing  a  Vocation  137 

to  be  sought  in  life  is  to  hold  some  high  position, 
and  that  there  is  something  dishonorable  about  being 
a  private  citizen. 

I  should  like  to  teach  with  all  my  power  the  dig- 
nity of  doing  the  common  things  of  life  uncommonly 
well.  I  should  like  to  emphasize  the  honor  of  being 
a  private  citizen  in  any  cause  when  that  citizenship 
has  honor  reflected  on  it  by  the  individual. 

It  is  doubtful  if  the  vocations  connected  with  the 
spectacular  are  so  desirable  for  the  individual  as 
those  going  with  the  commonplace.  It  is  true  that 
some  one  must  follow  the  brass  band  In  the  circus 
parade,  but  the  wise  young  man  will  not  travel  over 
the  earth  to  find  a  circus  to  follow  when  there  are 
many  duties  of  the  ordinary  kind  at  home  to  be 
done. 

The  choosing  of  a  vocation  is  no  child's  play;  it 
should  be  done  with  all  earnestness  and  with  serious 
thought.  It  is  one  of  the  few  very  Important  deci- 
sions a  young  man  has  to  make,  since  his  entire  life 
is  usually  affected  by  the  choice. 

Play  the  Game. — ^After  having  chosen  a  vocation 
every  energy  should  be  given  to  making  it  a  success. 
The  kind  of  work  a  person  does  is  of  less  conse- 
quence than  the  way  he  does  it.  Success  In  a  humble 
occupation  is  better  than  failure  in  the  most  exalted. 
One  of  the  greatest  compliments  that  can  be  paid 
a  person  Is  to  say  that  he  succeeded,  and  one  of  the 
worst  things  that  can  be  said  is  that  he  failed. 


138  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

Success  means  effort;  "there  is  no  excellence  with- 
out labor."  The  keynote  to  success  in  any  occupa- 
tion is  to  learn  it  from  the  bottom  to  the  top;  then 
play  the  game  for  all  it  is  worth. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

TRAINING    FOR    A    LIFe's    WORK 

Different  Requirements. — Each  occupation  re- 
quires its  own  special  kind  of  training.  There  are 
a  few  general  things  a  person  must  know  and  be 
able  to  do  in  order  to  succeed  in  any  business;  for 
example,  reading,  writing,  and  handling  figures. 
Most  people  spend  the  greater  part  of  their  period 
of  preparation  in  acquiring  general  knowledge  that 
will  be  of  equal  value  in  any  vocation.  This  is  a 
day  of  specialization,  however,  and  the  industries 
are  becoming  more  and  more  complex.  They  are 
demanding  more  than  ever  men  who  can  do  some 
particular  thing  especially  well.  This  calls  for  a 
special  training  for  each  vocation. 

The  older  schools  and  colleges  worked  on  the 
theory  that  if  a  man  had  a  fair  knowledge  of  Greek 
and  Latin  and  imbibed  some  of  the  culture  of  past 
ages,  and  if  he  was  acquainted  with  the  important 
theories  of  philosophy,  he  was  prepared  to  meet  the 
problems  of  the  world  and  do  its  work.  The  mental 
culture  he  received  was  thought  to  give  him  power 
to  cope  with  any  emergency  that  might  arise. 

139 


140  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

It  is  believed  by  many  at  the  present,  however, 
that  the  necessary  culture  may  be  obtained  just  as 
well  in  the  study  of  something  that  is  in  itself  useful. 
For  example,  learning  the  important  facts  about  the 
soil  will  develop  the  mind  as  much  as  learning  about 
the  philosophy  of  Thales.  The  knowledge  of  the 
soil  has  the  additional  value  of  helping  the  pros- 
pective farmer  to  learn  something  important  regard- 
ing his  vocation. 

Truth,  be  it  ever  so  far  removed  from  the  prac- 
tical, is  well  worth  learning  for  its  own  sake;  but 
where  a  young  man  has  only  a  limited  time  in  which 
to  train  for  his  life's  work,  he  should  not  neglect  the 
things  that  will  be  helpful  to  him  in  his  particular 
calling. 

The  surgeon  must  have  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
anatomy  as  well  as  skill  in  handling  the  knife.  The 
lawyer  must  know  the  statutes  as  well  as  be  familiar 
with  court  proceedings.  The  farmer  should  know 
the  laws  governing  the  growth  of  crops  as  well  as 
have  ability  to  till  the  soil.  The  engineer  must 
know  the  strength  of  materials  as  well  as  be  able 
to  draw  intelligible  plans.  Thus,  each  profession 
has  knowledge  and  training  peculiar  to  itself.  Many 
persons  are  trying  to  follow  the  various  occupations 
without  any  particular  training  for  them,  but  they 
are  usually  a  menace  to  the  profession  and  are  unjust 
to  themselves. 

Thoroughness    in    Preparation    Necessary. — There 


Training  for  a  Lifers  Work  141 

is  a  constant  temptation  for  the  young  man  with 
limited  means  to  rush  into  the  practise  of  his  pro- 
fession with  the  minimum  training.  He  sees  an  open- 
ing to  begin  and  believes  he  can  do  the  work,  al- 
though he  realizes  that  he  is  not  thoroughly  ready 
and  that  he  should  have  more  preparation.  Such  a 
person  may  succeed  for  a  while,  but  there  will  come 
a  time  when  he  will  strike  bottom.  He  is  brought 
forcibly  to  realize  that  his  promotion  is  impossible, 
since  he  is  not  prepared  to  do  the  work  at  first 
undertaken. 

The  discovery  of  a  person's  inadequacy  usually 
comes  after  it  is  too  late  to  repair  the  loss.  He 
either  has  a  family  to  support  or  he  feels  too  old  to 
go  back  to  the  beginning.  As  a  result,  he  must 
always  be  satisfied  with  a  comparatively  low  place 
in  his  profession. 

One  great  writer  made  the  statement  that  it  did 
not  matter  how  late  a  person  came  into  the  world 
so  long  as  he  came  well  equipped.  By  this  he  meant 
that  a  little  delay  in  beginnng  active  work  did  not 
matter  if  a  person  were  only  prepared  to  do  the 
work  properly  when  he  began.  Young  men  are 
usually  restless  to  begin  solving  the  real  problems. 
A  year  to  them  is  like  an  age  and  it  sometimes  seems 
impossible  to  spend  an  extra  year  in  preparation. 
After  they  get  older,  however,  they  see  that  less 
haste  v/ould  have  been  better. 

Apprenticeships. — One    of    the    favorite    ways    of 


142  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

training  boys  in  the  trades  has  been  by  apprentice- 
ships, especially  in  some  of  the  countries  of  Europe. 
A  young  man  was  bound  out  to  a  master  tradesman 
for  a  number  of  years,  during  which  time  he  received 
very  little  money  in  return  for  his  services,  but  was 
taught  the  trade  or  profession  so  that  at  the  end  of 
the  apprenticeship  he  was  prepared  to  do  thorough 
work.  This  method  was  used  particularly  with  such 
trades  as  carpentry,  blacksmithing,  and  shoemaking. 
The  same  principle  was  also  used  in  training  doctors, 
lawyers,  and  other  professional  men. 

This  method  has  some  advantages  as  well  as  dis- 
advantages. It  usually  produced  thoroughness,  but 
was  doubtless  rather  wasteful  of  time  from  the  point 
of  view  of  the  young  man. 

Special  School  Training. — ^This  is  an  age  of 
schools.  Never  in  the  history  of  the  world  has  there 
been  so  much  money  spent  on  school  faculties  and 
equipment  as  at  present.  Everything  is  done  to  give 
the  student  a  maximum  of  training  in  the  least  time. 
If  one  would  be  a  doctor  or  lawyer,  he  can  find  a 
school  in  almost  every  city  where  he  can  learn  these 
things.  If  he  wants  to  become  a  farmer  or  mechanic, 
he  can  in  every  state  get  good  schools  where  these 
subjects  are  taught.  The  courses  in  these  special 
schools  are  so  arranged  that  a  person  can  learn  his 
business  much  sooner  than  under  the  old  apprentice- 
ship system.  The  schools  usually  emphasize  princi- 
ples and  leave  the  person  to  get  the  applications 


Training  for  a  Lifers  Work  143 

from  practise  afterwards.  The  schools  are  able  to 
keep  up  to  the  latest  thought  on  a  subject  much  bet- 
ter than  the  individuals  who  take  boys  to  train.  In 
almost  every  vocation,  it  would  be  a  good  thing  If 
the  practitioners  could  have  some  special  school 
training  in  the  subject  and  not  depend  entirely  on  a 
general  school  education. 

Preparation  the  Key  to  Opportunity. — Some  one 
has  said  that  preparation  is  the  key  that  unlocks  the 
door  to  opportunity.  Experience  certainly  bears  out 
the  truth  of  this  statement.  The  pessimist  Is  likely 
to  say  that  there  are  no  opportunities  these  days 
and  it  Is  useless  to  put  forth  special  effort.  It  can 
usually  be  depended  on  that  if  a  person  makes  a 
statement  of  this  kind  he  himself  has  spent  but  little 
time  in  preparation  for  anything. 

History  Is  full  of  examples  of  persons  who  have 
prepared  themselves  for  a  particular  work,  even 
though  there  seemed  no  chance  for  them  to  do  the 
work.  Their  preparation  has  been  the  magic  key 
that  has  unlocked  the  opportunity.  Instead  of  there 
being  no  opportunity  a  person  hardly  has  time  to 
finish  his  training  before  calls  come  to  him  from 
every  side  to  enter  some  door  leading  to  success. 
The  shiftless  idler  who  spends  his  life  looking  for 
doors  to  open  themselves,  hoping  that,  perchance, 
he  might  slip  in,  is  the  one  who  complains  that  all 
the  locks  are  rusty  and  the  keys  lost.  The  person 
who  has  taken  the  trouble  to  rustle  a  key  hardly 


144  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

extends  his  hand  toward  the  lock  before  the  door 
swings  wide  open  for  him  to  enter.  The  other  fel- 
low is  taking  a  nap  at  such  time  so  he  rarely  gets  a 
chance  to  even  look  through  the  open  door  toward 
success. 

This  is  an  age  offering  wonderful  advantages  for 
a  young  man  to  acquire  training  in  any  walk  of  life. 
Let  him  choose  almost  any  calling  he  will  and  he  can, 
without  any  financial  capital,  prepare  himself  for 
important  service  in  that  calling.  It  requires  energy 
and  work  to  accomplish  this,  but  surely  it  is  worth 
while. 


CHAPTER  XX 


THE    GLORY    OF   WORK 


Man  Naturally  Likes  to  Expend  Energy. — The 
expending  of  energy  constitutes  one  of  the  most  fun- 
damental traits  of  human  character.  A  person  want- 
ing to  be  entirely  idle  all  the  time  without  exercising 
either  mind  or  body  would  indeed  be  a  curiosity 
fit  to  travel  with  a  circus  as  a  side-show  attraction. 
From  early  infancy  to  old  age  the  normal  person  is 
exerting  himself  during  most  of  his  waking  hours. 
Some  spend  their  energies  doing  useful  work,  while 
others  dissipate  their  vitality  in  seeking  pleasure. 
The  best  condition  is  between  these  extremes,  with 
part  work  and  part  play.  People  who  are  over- 
worked may  think  that  a  condition  of  absolute  quiet 
is  desirable.  They  fail  to  distinguish  between  well- 
earned  rest  and  indolent  ease.  After  a  person  has 
spent  his  energy,  it  is  natural  to  rest  and  recuperate; 
but  any  attempt  to  get  the  pleasure  derived  from 
rest  without  earning  it  is  an  attempted  short-cut 
which  will  lead  to  many  troubles. 

The  young  child  almost  as  soon  as  it  is  born  begins 
vigorous  exercise  which  it  seldom  ceases.     It  keeps 

145 


146  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

hands,  feet,  and  body  constantly  moving.  Laziness 
is  an  acquired  character  which  develops  later  in  life 
to  the  great  injury  of  the  person  affected  by  it. 

Work  Necessary  to  Health  of  Body. — Even 
though  a  person  does  not  like  to  work,  he  must  do 
so  if  he  desires  to  keep  his  body  in  a  healthy,  vigor- 
ous condition.  Man  is  so  constituted  that  the  regular 
bodily  functions  are  performed  much  better  if  the 
body  is  active.  Nearly  every  school  and  town  has 
its  gymnasium  for  the  use  of  those  Who  are  engaged 
in  sedentary  employment.  Here,  well-arranged  exer- 
cises are  given  in  order  that  the  various  muscles  will 
be  brought  into  action.  It  is  a  common  thing  for 
those  who  are  confined  in  close  quarters  to  take  a 
few  weeks'  vacation  each  year  in  order  to  give  their 
bodies  freer  exercise.  Burton  says,  "Idleness  is  the 
bane  of  body  and  mind,  the  nurse  of  naughtiness,  the 
chief  mother  of  all  mischief,  one  of  the  seven  deadly 
sins,  the  devil's  cushion,  his  pillow  and  chief  reposal. 
.  .  .  An  idle  dog  will  be  mangy;  and  how  shall  an 
idle  person  escape.?" 

Work  Improves  Condition  of  Mind. — If  a  person 
spends  his  time  in  complete  idleness,  he  soon  lapses 
into  a  state  of  mental  indolence.  The  mind  and  body 
are  intimately  connected,  and  the  condition  of  one 
influences  the  other.  The  mental  faculties  are  most 
vigorous  if  both  mind  and  body  have  something  to 
do.  The  mind  will  not  develop  great  strength  if  its 
thinking  be  haphazard  and  without  system.     It  needs 


The  Glory  of  Work  147 

definite  tasks  to  perform  and  problems  to  solve  if  it 
is  to  get  greatest  growth. 

When  difficult  mental  work  is  to  be  done,  there  is 
often  a  tendency  to  slide  around  it  in  some  easy  way 
without  going  to  the  bottom;  but  if  a  person  wishes 
his  mental  faculties  to  be  strong,  he  must  allow  no 
flinching.  He  must  make  his  mind  move  the  load 
as  he  would  expect  his  horse  to  do  if  there  was  a 
hard  pull  to  be  made.  Smiles  says,  "Though  the 
body  may  shirk  labor,  the  brain  is  not  idle.  If  it 
does  not  grow  corn,  it  will  grow  thistles,  which  will 
be  found  springing  up  along  the  idle  man's  course  in 
life.  The  ghosts  of  indolence  rise  up  in  the  dark, 
ever  stinging  the  recreant  in  the  face,  and  tormenting 
him.  True  happiness  is  never  found  in  torpor  of 
the  faculties,  but  in  their  action  and  useful  employ- 
ment. It  is  indolence  that  exhausts,  not  action,  in 
which  there  is  life,  health,  and  pleasure." 

Civilization  Based  07i  Work. — History  is  full  of 
examples  of  what  men  have  accomplished  by  being 
constantly  industrious.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  in  all 
history  we  do  not  have  any  great  accomplishment 
without  work.  The  men  who  have  shaped  the  polit- 
ical, industrial,  and  intellectual  welfare  of  mankind, 
during  all  the  ages,  have  been  men  who  have  de- 
voted themselves  consistently  and  industriously  to 
the  work  they  have  had  to  do,  often  in  the  face  of 
privation  and  want.  Even  Louis  XIV  said,  "It  is 
by  toil  that  kings  govern." 


148  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

The  great  statesmen,  writers,  and  scientists,  who 
could  be  named  by  the  score,  almost  without  excep- 
tion have  been  men  who  were  noted  for  their  indus- 
try. They  have  often  been  successful  in  business 
in  addition  to  the  work  they  have  done  in  the  field 
that  has  made  them  famous. 

All  Work  Honorable. — ^A  sentiment  exists  among 
some  classes  of  people  that  only  certain  kinds  of  work 
are  really  fitting  for  them  to  do.  They  consider 
themselves  superior  beings  who  would  be  contami- 
nated by  the  common  work  of  the  world  and  who 
must  have  some  extraordinary  kind  of  employment. 
They  think  their  ''higher  culture"  should  demand  a 
kid-glove  job,  where  no  great  muscular  strain  is  re- 
quired. This  is  a  mistaken  idea.  All  work,  so 
long  as  it  is  honest,  is  honorable.  The  better  kind 
of  culture  is  that  which  will  train  a  person  to  do  his 
work  with  pleasure  and  efficiency,  rather  than  take 
him  away  from  strenuous  employment.  It  is  said 
that  rich  parents  seldom  have  sons  who  amount  to 
anything.  This  is  largely  because  of  the  attitude 
assumed  by  the  children  toward  certain  kinds  of 
work.  The  parents  usually  gained  their  possessions 
by  the  greatest  industry,  but  the  children  forget  this, 
and  have  the  idea  that  all  hard  work  should  be  done 
by  servants.  They  acquire  the  habit  of  dodging  the 
real  problems  of  life,  the  solution  of  which  is  so 
important  in  character-building.  Wise  parents,  no 
matter  how  high  their  financial  or  social  standing, 


The  Glory  of  Work  149 

will  impress  upon  their  children  a  respect  for  every 
kind  of  honest  work. 

Work  a  Blessing,  not  a  Curse. — People  sometimes 
complain  of  the  fact  that  there  is  work  that  must  be 
done.  They  wonder  why  man  has  to  keep  busy  from 
one  year's  end  to  another  in  order  to  get  a  living 
when  it  would  be  so  much  easier  if  he  could  only  get 
along  doing  nothing.  Such  people  have  not  made  a 
very  careful  study  of  the  nature  of  man.  The 
Creator  knew  what  he  was  doing  when  he  made  it 
necessary  for  people  to  earn  their  daily  bread  by 
toil.  It  is  only  by  exertion  and  effort  that  develop- 
ment comes,  and  since  development  is  one  of  the 
chief  ends  of  life  on  the  earth,  the  opportunity  to 
do  work  is  one  of  the  greatest  blessings  in  the  pos- 
session of  man. 

Samuel  Smiles  says,  "It  is  idleness  that  is  the 
curse  of  man — not  labor.  Idleness  eats  the  heart 
out  of  men  as  of  nations,  and  consumes  them  as  rust 
does  iron.  When  Alexander  conquered  the  Per- 
sians, and  had  an  opportunity  of  observing  their 
manners,  he  remarked  that  they  did  not  seem  con- 
scious that  there  could  be  anything  more  servile  than 
a  life  of  pleasure,  or  more  princely  than  a  life  of 
toil." 

Lessing  was  so  thoroughly  converted  to  the  value 
of  effort  that  he  said,  "If  the  All-powerful  Being, 
holding  in  one  hand  Truth,  and  in  the  other,  the 


150         The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

search  for  truth,  said  to  me,  'Choose,'  I  would  an- 
swer him,  *0  All-powerful,  keep  for  thyself  the 
Truth;  but  leave  for  me  the  search  of  it,  which  is 
better  for  me!'  " 


J 


CHAPTER  XXI 


THE    HABIT   OF    INDUSTRY 


Industry  Necessary  to  Accomplishment. — •!£  a  per- 
son desires  to  accomplish  anything  in  the  world  he 
must  keep  himself  constantly  employed.  Work  will 
not  do  itself.  Everything  of  value  has  its  price, 
and  the  price  of  getting  things  done  is  to  keep  busy. 

The  work  of  some  people  resembles  the  pulling 
done  by  a  balky  horse.  They  give  an  occasional 
lunge  into  the  collar  between  long  periods  of  idle- 
ness. They  may  procrastinate  for  a  week,  then, 
when  as  industrious  streak  takes  hold,  they  may  work 
all  day  and  night  and  injure  themselves  as  a  result. 
Such  spasmodic  outbursts  never  amount  to  much. 
The  only  way  to  really  get  work  done  is  to  keep 
constantly  on  the  job  day  after  day.  An  Indian  may 
sometimes  do  twice  as  much  as  a  white  man,  but 
the  chances  are  he  will  take  a  vacation  just  when 
the  work  is  most  pressing. 

It  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  to  find  a  brilliant 
genius  who  is  able,  in  some  field,  to  do  as  much  as 
two  or  three  ordinary  men.  These  geniuses,  how- 
ever, seldom  reach  abiding  success,  usually  because 

151 


152  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

they  fall  to  acquire  the  habit  of  industry.  They  de- 
pend on  their  talents  to  help  them  along  and  are 
irregular  in  their  efforts,  A  combination  of  ability 
and  industry  in  a  person  is  a  condition  greatly  to  be 
desired,  but  moderate  ability  with  great  industry 
will  usually  accomplish  more  than  greater  ability 
applied  irregularly. 

The  Use  of  Odd  Moments. — ^It  is  by  the  strict  use 
of  odd  moments  that  many  of  the  men  of  eminence 
have  been  able  to  succeed.  They  have  had  their 
share  of  routine  labor  to  perform,  but  by  using  every 
minute  of  time  between  other  jobs,  they  have  trained 
themselves  for  special  usefulness  among  their  fel- 
lows. One  hardly  realizes  how  much  can  be  accom- 
plished by  using  the  little  scraps  of  time  that  are 
usually  wasted.  The  best  way  to  use  this  time  profit- 
ably is  to  plan  work  that  can  be  picked  up  for  a 
few  minutes  at  a  time.  The  little  periods  of  waiting 
that  one  has  every  day,  the  time  spent  walking  or 
riding  from  place  to  place,  may  be  spent  in  reading, 
writing,  and  doing  systematic  thinking,  or  finishing 
odd  jobs  of  work.  Most  people  fail  in  this  matter 
by  not  having  things  definitely  planned  ahead. 
When  the  five  or  ten  minutes  of  leisure  come,  there 
is  not  time  both  to  find  a  job  and  to  do  it,  while  if 
the  job  is  already  planned  there  may  be  time  to 
finish  it.  Many  of  the  best-read  persons  one  meets 
have  done  practically  all  their  reading  at  odd  times 
when  their  associates  have  been  idle. 


The  Habit  of  Industry  153 

Cultivating  a  Liking  for  Being  Busy. — If  a  person 
does  not  like  work  nothing  is  more  irksome  than 
being  compelled  to  labor.  On  the  other  hand,  if 
one  is  naturally  industrious  he  is  happiest  when  busy. 
Since  it  is  necessary  for  most  people  to  work,  they 
will  spend  life  more  profitably  if  their  employment 
can  be  made  a  pleasure  instead  of  a  trial. 

One  of  the  chief  ways  of  getting  joy  out  of  labor 
is  to  take  an  interest  in  it  and  to  watch  its  results. 
This  is  often  easier  if  a  person  is  working  for  him- 
self than  for  some  one  else,  but  one  should  interest 
himself  in  everything  he  does  regardless  of  whom 
it  is  for.  Those  who  consider  their  work  as  sheer 
drudgery  usually  have  no  interest  outside  of  the 
check  on  pay  day.  On  the  other  hand,  nothing  is 
more  disagreeable  to  a  man  who  enjoys  his  work 
than  idleness,  even  for  a  short  time.  The  habit  of 
industry  is  easy  to  cultivate  while  young,  but  diffi- 
cult to  acquire  after  part  of  a  life  has  been  spent 
in  idleness. 

Doing  vs.  Being. — -An  idea  exists  among  some 
classes  of  people  that  the  chief  aim  in  life  is  to  "be 
some  one,"  that  is,  to  hold  an  important  position. 
They  seem  to  consider  position  to  be  the  end  to  be 
sought  when  in  reality  it  should  be  only  an  incident. 
The  important  thing  is  to  accomplish  something  of 
value.  Doing  something  is  more  important  than 
being  something.  It  is  true  that  a  position  may  give 
a  person  power  to  accomplish  more  than  he  other- 


154  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

wise  could,  and  where  this  is  the  case  position  may 
be  a  desirable  thing  to  seek;  but  on  the  whole,  peo- 
ple worry  more  about  rising  to  eminence  than  they 
do  about  performing  the  duties  of  the  desired  posi- 
tion. If  young  men  would  give  more  attention  to 
doing  their  own  work  well  instead  of  looking  with 
longing  eyes  at  the  man  above  them,  the  world's 
work  would  be  done  better  and  advancement  would 
be  more  certain. 

Contributions  of  the  Industrious  and  the  Idle  to 
Society. — ^The  idler  contributes  nothing  to  society; 
he  is  a  mere  parasite  sapping  the  life's  blood  from 
the  workers.  If  all  the  idlers  could  be  removed  from 
the  earth,  the  rest  of  the  people  would  have  more 
comforts,  and  there  would  be  greater  opportunity 
for  the  education  and  improvement  of  society  gen- 
erally. On  the  other  hand,  each  able-bodied  worker, 
if  industrious,  can  supply  not  only  his  own  needs, 
but  can  add  to  the  wealth  and  welfare  of  mankind. 
Each  industrious  man  benefits  society  by  his  work, 
while  every  idler  is  a  load  retarding  progress.  In 
the  interest  of  self  protection  society  should  do  all  it 
can  to  eliminate  the  idler  and  to  foster  the  worker. 

Idler  Shall  Not  Eat  the  Bread  of  the  Worker. — 
Modern  society  is  becoming  thoroughly  imbued  with 
the  idea  that  "the  idler  shall  not  eat  the  bread  of  the 
laborer."  Human  drones  are  becoming  less  and  less 
popular.  It  is  used  to  be  a  boast  among  aristocratic 
people  that  they  did  not  have  to  work,  therefore 


The  Habit  of  Industry  155 

they  did  nothing.  This,  however,  is  an  industrial 
age,  and  the  value  of  a  man  is  measured  by  what  he 
can  accomplish.  It  is  no  longer  popular  to  be  with- 
out a  profession  or  an  occupation. 

Even  where  a  young  man  inherits  a  sum  of  money 
sufficient  to  enable  him  to  live  in  idle  luxury  the  re- 
mainder of  his  days,  there  is  no  justification  for  idle- 
ness. His  duty  is  to  spend  his  energies  to  some  use- 
ful end  in  order  that  the  world  will  be  better  for  his 
having  lived.  The  man  who  spends  his  birthright 
without  trying  to  develop  it,  can  be  compared  to  the 
servant  who  hid  his  lord's  talent  in  the  earth.  He 
is  a  slothful  servant  unworthy  the  respect  of  his 
fellowmen.  Young  men  who  spend  their  valuable 
time  loafing  around  street  corners  telling  stories  in- 
stead of  doing  some  useful  work  usually  get  their 
just  deserts,  since  they  seldom  reach  any  great  finan- 
cial prosperity  and  must  be  content  to  eat  the  scant 
morsel  they  earn. 


CHAPTER  XXII 


DEVOTION    TO    A    CALLING 


Change  of  Vocation  Undesirable. — -It  is  a  com- 
mon saying  that  a  rolling  stone  gathers  no  moss.  The 
significance  of  this  saying  is  that  it  is  rarely  profitable 
lo  change  from  one  vocation  to  another.  This  does 
not  mean  that  it  is  necessary  to  remain  in  a  work 
for  which  one  finds  himself  entirely  unfitted,  but  the 
ceaseless  shifting  from  one  thing  to  another  is 
usually  bad.  Capable  men  sometimes  take  up  a  line 
of  work  and  plod  along  in  it  till  they  are  in  the  wake 
of  success,  when  they  are  suddenly  seized  by  a  de- 
sire to  go  into  some  other  kind  of  business  which 
must  also  be  learned  from  the  ground  up.  They 
find  themselves  fairly  apt  in  the  new  work,  but  they 
rarely  learn  how  to  do  it  before  they  again  shift. 
Their  entire  lives  are  spent  changing  vocations,  and 
they  do  not  make  a  success  of  anything.  It  is  neces- 
sary to  be  deliberate  in  choosing  a  calling,  but  when 
the  decision  is  once  made,  it  is  generally  better  to 
stay  with  the  choice  than  to  venture  into  some  un- 
tried field.  Many  examples  might  be  cited  of  men 
practically  wasting  their  lives  when  they  could  have 

156 


Devotion  to  a  Calling  157 

attained  eminent  success  in  any  one  of  the  many 
fields  of  work  tried  by  them.  Demosthenes,  the 
great  Greek  orator,  had  an  impediment  in  his  speech 
which,  it  seemed,  would  prevent  him  from  ever  be- 
coming a  public  speaker.  By  persistent  effort  to 
overcome  his  handicap  and  to  prepare  himself,  he 
became  perhaps  the  greatest  orator  the  world  has 
ever  known.  Had  he  been  discouraged  after  a  year 
or  two  of  failure  and  changed  his  work,  it  is  probable 
the  world  would  never  have  heard  from  him. 

Edison,  in  perfecting  some  of  his  important  in- 
ventions, met  with  many  discouragements.  He  was 
not  daunted,  however,  but  continued  on  till  success 
came. 

A  young  man  once  started  out  to  become  a  doctor. 
After  studying  medicine  a  year  or  two,  he  decided 
that  the  law  suited  him  better.  He  was  almost  ready 
to  practise  law  when  he  became  interested  in  some 
mines,  and  turned  his  studies  to  mining  engineering 
for  a  number  of  years.  After  losing  some  money  in 
the  mines,  he  concluded  he  wanted  nothing  to  do  with 
digging  in  the  earth.  He  next  turned  his  attention 
to  merchandising,  which  was  soon  changed  to  the 
real  estate  business.  This  developed  into  handling 
farm  lands,  and  after  a  time  he  had  a  number  of 
farms  on  his  hands  which  he  could  not  dispose  of, 
so  he  had  to  work  them.  He  was  thus  forced  by 
circumstances  to  settle  down  as  a  farmer.  He  was 
a  man  of  exceptional  ability  and  could  have  achieved 


158  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

success  in  any  one  of  the  vocations  he  undertook,  if 
he  had  only  stayed  with  it;  but  his  life  was  prac- 
tically wasted  learning  a  half  dozen  professions 
in  none  of  which  he  succeeded. 

Love  for  One^s  Work. — When  a  person  is  en- 
gaged in  a  particular  kind  of  work,  he  should  love  it 
with  all  his  heart.  He  should  develop  an  interest 
in  all  its  processes  and  study  its  various  relations. 
If  this  is  done,  a  liking  for  it  cannot  help  but  de- 
velop. It  is  sometimes  necessary  to  take  up  a  line 
of  work  that  is  naturally  distasteful,  but  natural 
prejudice  can  often  be  largely  overcome  and  its 
place  taken  by  a  distinct  liking. 

If  a  person  is  to  be  happy  he  must  enjoy  doing  his 
work.  He  should  be  so  interested  in  it  that  he  feels 
glad  to  take  it  up  each  morning  and  reluctant  to 
lay  it  down  at  night.  He  should  have  more  satis- 
faction and  contentment  when  engaged  in  his  ordi- 
nary daily  labor  than  when  compelled  to  be  away 
from  it.  At  the  end  of  a  vacation,  he  should  feel 
like  going  back  to  his  work  with  a  will  rather  than 
with  complaint.  A  love  for  one's  calling  not  only 
contributes  greatly  to  the  joy  of  living,  but  it  is  a 
large  element  of  success  in  that  calling. 

Duties  Connected  With  a  Calling. — In  every  pro- 
fession, there  are  some  duties  to  perform  that  are 
not  the  most  pleasant,  but  if  a  person  is  to  be  suc- 
cessful in  his  calling,  he  must  not  shun  these  dis- 
agreeable tasks.     In  undertaking  a  line  of  work,  he 


Devotion  to  a  Calling  159 

must  make  up  his  mind  to  do  whatever  comes  in 
his  way  in  the  performance  of  his  duties.  Many  fail 
because  they  flinch  when  the  extra  stress  comes. 
They  are  good  workers  as  long  as  nothing  but  pleas- 
ant work  is  to  be  done,  but  as  soon  as  anything  dis- 
tasteful develops  they  are  found  lacking. 

A  doctor  would  be  of  little  value  if  he  would  take 
only  easy  cases  requiring  no  special  effort,  and  re- 
fuse to  treat  a  case  that  needed  extra  energy  and  self- 
denial.  If  a  person  decides  to  be  a  doctor,  he  should 
make  up  his  mind  that  some  of  his  cases  will  require 
his  utmost  skill  and  tax  his  endurance  to  the  limit. 
The  stockraiser  must  be  willing  to  tend  his  animals 
in  a  blizzard  as  well  as  on  pleasant  days.  Success 
in  any  business  will  depend  on  giving  as  much  at- 
tention to  its  disagreeable  phases  as  to  the  more 
pleasant  ones. 

Examples  of  Devotion  to  Calling. — Many  exam- 
ples could  be  taken  from  history  and  everyday  life 
to  show  hoW  people  have  been  so  devoted  to  their 
calling  that  it  became  almost  a  passion.  Nehemiah, 
the  prophet  of  old,  became  so  interested  in  building 
the  wall  around  Jerusalem  that  nothing  could  induce 
him  to  abandon  the  project.  When  Sanballat  wanted 
him  to  leave  his  work  and  meet  with  the  princess,  he 
sent  them  a  simple  message  saying:  "I  am  doing  a 
great  work,  so  that  I  cannot  come  down."  Nothing 
could  persuade  him  to  be  away  from  his  duty,  even 
for  a  short  time. 


160  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

Agassiz,  the  great  naturalist,  is  one  of  the  best 
examples  of  devotion  to  the  cause  of  science.  He  be- 
lieved that  tracing  out  the  hand  of  God  in  nature 
was  so  important  that  he  denied  himself  all  kinds 
of  personal  comforts  and  pleasures  in  order  to  keep 
steadily  at  his  work.  When  offered  large  sums  of 
money  to  take  up  work  foreign  to  his  science,  he 
promptly  replied  that  he  did  not  have  time  to  make 
money.  This  devotion  bore  fruit  in  the  large  amount 
of  scientific  work  actually  done  by  him,  and  also 
in  the  inspiration  which  he  gave  to  his  pupils. 


i 


CHAPTER  XXIII 


ENTHUSIASM    IN    WORK 


The  Impetus  of  Enthusiasm. — Work  done  with 
enthusiasm  receives  an  impetus  that  is  impossible  if 
done  in  a  half-hearted  manner.  If  a  person  is  en- 
thusiastic over  the  duties  he  has  to  perform,  he  is 
likely  to  be  successful  even  in  the  face  of  great  ob- 
stacles; but  if  he  has  no  enthusiasm,  small  hindrances 
may  cause  failure.  The  teacher  who  does  not  care 
for  his  work  and  undertakes  it  with  only  part  of  his 
effort,  is  sure  to  be  unsuccessful,  regardless  of  his 
natural  ability;  while  another  teacher  with  less  tal- 
ent may  succeed  admirably  by  taking  up  his  calling 
with  all  his  heart  and  giving  it  his  best  energies. 

One  must  become  so  saturated  with  his  subject 
that  he  will  fairly  overflow  with  it;  he  must  be 
so  charged  himself  that  he  becomes  a  center  of  radia- 
tion if  he  expects  to  impress  others.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  carry  enthusiasm  into  folly,  and  become  un- 
balanced; but  if  anything  of  value  is  to  be  accom- 
plished, something  more  than  a  mere  passive  atti- 
tude must  be  taken. 

The  great  reformers  in  all  ages  have  usually  ac- 

161 


162  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

complished  their  ends  more  because  of  the  conviction 
they  have  put  into  their  efforts  than  because  of  any- 
startling  new  ideas  they  have  advanced.  One  who 
believes  thoroughly  in  his  work  has  a  good  start  to- 
ward success.  The  enthusiasm  that  comes  from  a 
number  of  individuals  working  together  for  a  cause 
often  carries  it  to  success,  when  an  individual  work- 
ing alone  with  the  same  discouragements  would  be 
overcome.  The  great  conflicts  that  have  been  waged 
by  peoples  for  national  independence  have  often 
succeeded  more  because  of  the  spirit  put  into  them 
than  because  of  any  great  resources. 

The  Development  of  Enthusiasm. — ^There  is  a 
big  difference  in  the  attitude  people  assume  toward 
their  work.  Some  are  strenuous  in  everything  they 
undertake,  while  others  are  reserved  and  have  the 
habit  of  attacking  things  with  great  deliberation. 
Those  who  naturally  have  a  large  degree  of  enthusi- 
asm do  not  need  especially  to  cultivate  this  virtue, 
while  those  who  are  lacking  it  should  practise  put- 
ting "ginger"  into  what  they  do  and  say.  They 
should  begin  a  campaign  of  converting  themselves 
thoroughly  to  something,  then  try  to  impress  it  on 
others  with  all  the  strength  they  can  command. 

There  may  be  a  danger  in  working  too  hard  for 
a  thing  before  knowing  whether  it  is  proper  or  not; 
but  the  person  who  is  forever  holding  back  with  the 
fear  that  he  might  by  some  hook  or  crook  make  a 
mistake  will  not  accomplish  much.     Better  make  a 


Enthusiasm  in  Work  163 

mistake  once  in  a  while  and  then  correct  it  than  go 
through  life  without  doing  anything  at  all.  En- 
thusiasm is  an  asset,  and  as  such  should  be  cultivated. 

leaking  the  Drudgery  Out  of  Work. — Life,  at 
best,  has  in  it  considerable  of  the  unpleasant.  The 
daily  tasks  one  is  called  to  perform  are  likely  at 
times  to  become  irksome.  There  is  in  all  work 
sufficient  of  routine  that  it  sometimes  is  monoto- 
nous; and  it  is  important  that  this  drudgery  and  mo- 
notony be  reduced  as  much  as  possible,  in  order  that 
the  pleasant  part  of  life  will  be  the  maximum,  and 
the  disagreeable  the  minimum. 

There  is  no  better  way  of  enjoying  one's  work 
than  by  being  enthusiastic  over  it.  Something  in  this 
attitude  makes  one  cease  to  be  annoyed  by  little 
things  that  would  otherwise  discourage.  Interest  is 
turned  toward  the  results  of  labor  instead  of  being 
diverted  by  every  little  unpleasant  detail  that  is  en- 
countered. Drudgery  is  largely  an  attitude  of  mind. 
Any  activity  may  become  irksome,  if  considered  in 
that  light;  on  the  other  hand,  the  most  diligent 
application  to  one's  duties  may  be  a  pleasure,  if  one 
has  the  proper  attitude  toward  one's  work.  One  of 
the  chief  aims  of  modern  industrial  education  is  to 
give  the  student  an  enthusiasm  for  the  common 
tasks  of  life  that  will  enable  the  world's  work  to  be 
done  without  drudgery. 

Infusing  Industry  Into  Others. — We  are  all  af- 
fected by  those  around  us  and  we,  to  an  extent,  par- 


164  The   Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

take  of  their  attitude  and  spirit.  If  they  are  dis- 
satisfied, it  is  possible  that  dissatisfaction  will  annoy 
us;  while,  if  they  are  joyful,  our  lives  will  be  given 
additional  joy.  This  influence  of  one  person  on 
another  is  perhaps  as  strong  in  the  attitude  toward 
work  as  in  anything. 

Every  person  who  takes  up  his  work  with  a  will 
and  carries  it  on  vigorously  makes  those  associating 
with  him  get  something  of  his  spirit.  In  factories 
where  a  number  of  people  are  working  together, 
speeders  are  sometimes  employed  at  an  extra  cost. 
They  work  very  rapidly  and  their  example  stimu- 
lates the  rest  to  greater  effort.  A  person  who  is  en- 
thusiastic over  his  work  is  a  benefit  to  any  commun- 
ity, since  other  people  become  imbued  with  the  same 
spirit,  and  the  work  of  the  community  will  be  more 
efficient. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 


EFFICIENCY    IN    WORK 


Kinds  of  Efficiency. — 'There  are  a  number  of  ways 
of  considering  efficiency  in  work.  One  is  to  take 
the  individual  as  a  standard  and  make  his  produc- 
tion the  maximum,  using  for  his  assistance  every 
device  and  mechanical  aid  possible.  This  maximum 
work  of  the  individual  would  usually  be  sought  where 
human  labor  is  scarce  and  other  things  plentiful. 
Another  way  of  considering  efficiency  is  to  get  the 
greatest  production  for  some  piece  of  equipment, 
regardless  of  the  human  effort  spent.  This  condi- 
tion would  be  desired  with  a  very  expensive  or  rare 
piece  of  machinery  where  operating  labor  is  cheap. 

Under  other  conditions,  the  greatest  production 
for  a  given  time  is  desired,  regardless  of  labor  and 
equipment.  The  construction  of  the  Panama  Canal 
comes  in  this  list,  for  great  speed  in  finishing  the 
work  was  more  desired  than  economy.  Under  this 
condition,  the  efficiency  of  an  engineer  would  be  de- 
termined as  much  by  the  tons  of  earth  removed  in 
a  month  as  by  the  cost  of  each  ton.  In  agriculture, 
a  common  measure  of  efficiency  is  the  yield  of  crops 

165 


166         The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

to  the  acre  of  land.  According  to  this  standard, 
the  Chinese  are  very  efficient  farmers.  The  more 
modern  standard  of  efficiency  in  farming  is  to  take 
the  individual  as  the  unit  and  strive  to  get  the  maxi- 
mum returns  for  each  farmer  rather  than  for  each 
acre  of  land.  By  this  latter  method  of  considering 
the  question,  China  is  a  land  of  low  efficiency,  agri- 
culturally, for,  while  the  land  yields  heavy  crops, 
each  farmer  makes  but  little  money. 

Thus  in  considering  efficiency  we  must  state  what 
we  wish  to  be  efficient  in  production,  whether  the 
individual,  the  equipment,  or  the  land.  Since,  in 
this  discussion,  we  are  most  interested  in  the  indi- 
vidual, we  shall  consider,  particularly,  the  things 
that  will  aid  him  in  doing  his  work. 

Need  of  Efficiency. — 'This  is  an  age  when  every 
process  is  being  studied  in  detail  by  scientific  methods 
to  eliminate  every  possible  source  of  waste,  whether 
in  human  labor  or  in  material  wealth.  Since  compe- 
tition is  keen,  it  is  important  that  every  effort  count 
to  the  utmost,  for  those  who  spend  half  their  ener- 
gies doing  things  by  poor  methods  cannot  hope  to 
compete  with  those  who  are  more  forceful. 

For  the  good  of  society,  it  is  necessary  that  all 
work  be  done  just  as  effectively  as  possible.  If  a 
man  can,  by  using  a  particular  method  or  a  machine, 
till  twice  as  many  acres  of  land,  or  make  twice  as 
many  shoes  as  by  doing  it  some  other  way,  it  is  im- 
portant that  he  select  the  better  way,  in  order  that 


Efficiency  in  Work  167 

he  might  produce  more  wealth  for  the  world  during 
his  life.  It  is  good  for  the  individual  as  well  as  for 
mankind  generally  to  make  his  work  count,  and  he 
enjoys  at  least  part  of  the  reward  of  increased  pro- 
duction. 

If  a  person  has  a  fixed  amount  of  work  to  do, 
he  should  devise  every  means  possible  to  accomplish 
his  task  quickly  and  well.  This  will  enable  him  to 
have  more  time  for  educational  pursuits  and  for 
recreation.  The  old  idea  entertained  by  some  peo- 
ple, that  the  doing  of  every  task  needs  a  certain 
amount  of  drudgery  which  cannot  and  should  not 
be  lessened,  is  inconsistent  with  modern  methods  of 
thought  and  the  development  of  modern  times.  The 
whole  trend  of  present-day  education  is  toward  econ- 
omy of  effort,  and.  When  this  bears  fruit,  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  there  will  be  more  records  of  efficient 
lives. 

Plan  Time. — One  of  the  chief  ways  of  increasing 
efficiency  is  to  thoroughly  plan  one's  time.  So  many 
people  simply  work.  They  begin  in  the  morning  and 
stop  at  night.  They  have  done  what  has  presented 
itself,  rather  than  arrange  the  tasks  for  each  hour. 
They  are  slaves  of  their  time  rather  than  masters 
of  it.  Such  people  never  have  tim.e  to  do  anything; 
they  are  always  busy,  but  the  amount  of  real  work 
accomplished  by  them  is  usually  small.  The  old 
maxim  which  says:  "If  you  want  a  piece  of  work 
done  quickly,  choose  some  one  to  do  it  who  already 


168  The   Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

has  manyburdens,"  contains  considerable  truth.  Such 
persons  usually  have  their  time  well  planned  and  they 
can  find  odd  moments  here  and  there  for  extra  duties. 

It  is  really  remarkable  how  much  more  can  be 
done  if  every  minute  of  the  day  is  planned  in  the 
morning  before  work  is  begun,  than  if  the  day  is 
spent  just  doing  the  things  that  present  themselves. 
The  president  of  one  of  the  largest  insurance  com- 
panies in  America  had  a  clerk  who  did  nothing  but 
plan  his  employer's  time.  Because  the  time  of  this 
official  Was  so  valuable  that  not  a  minute  was  to  be 
wasted,  the  clerk  had  every  moment  definitely 
scheduled. 

Busy-bodies  often  complain  that  they  do  not  have 
time  to  plan;  but  it  is,  in  reality,  great  economy  to 
cease  work  long  enough  to  make  a  schedule  of  the 
working  hours.  Such  a  course  is  particularly  valu- 
able to  students.  They  usually  do  best  work  if  they 
have  a  well-arranged  plan  allowing  proper  time  for 
recreation  and  rest  as  well  as  for  work.  In  any  field 
it  is  not  always  possible  to  live  rigidly  up  to  a  sched- 
ule; a  plan  is  just  as  valuable  if  flexible  enough  to 
take  care  of  emergencies. 

Organising  Activities. — Going  hand-in-hand  with 
the  planning  of  time  is  the  organization  of  one's 
activities ;  indeed,  these  two  cannot  be  separated.  In 
arranging  the  daily,  monthly,  or  yearly  program, 
care  should  be  taken  to  make  the  various  jobs  fit 
well  into  each  other  so  that  the  greatest  efficiency 


Efficiency  in  Work  169 

will  be  realized.  There  are  many  kinds  of  work 
that  can  be  done  together,  if  care  is  taken  in  ar- 
ranging them.  The  housewife  who  cooks  but  one 
thing  at  a  time,  when  she  might  be  watching  every- 
thing necessary  for  a  dinner,  would  be  considered 
very  incompetent;  and  yet  some  men  do  not  exer- 
cise much  better  judgment  in  doing  their  work. 
Farmers  often  make  three  or  four  separate  trips  to 
town  for  things  which  could  have  been  procured  all 
at  once  if  planning  had  been  done  ahead.  Every 
business  has  its  little  pieces  of  work  that  can  be 
done  together  or  made  to  follow  each  other  effec- 
tively. These  should  be  studied  with  the  view  of 
economy  of  time  and  effort. 

Mechanical  Aids  to  Efficiency. — Man  is  so  much 
the  master  of  the  world  and  his  time  is  so  precious 
that  he  should  bring  to  his  aid  every  possible  me- 
chanical device  and  implement.  If  he  wishes  to 
travel  he  should  have  the  means  of  going  from  place 
to  place  as  rapidly  as  safety  will  permit  so  that  valu- 
able time  will  not  be  wasted.  If  he  wishes  to  move 
mountains  or  dig  in  the  earth,  he  should  have  the 
best  tools  that  can  possibly  be  obtained,  and  if  he 
wishes  to  till  the  earth  or  harvest  his  crops,  he  should 
have  those  devices  that  will  enable  him  to  do  it  in 
the  best  manner.  If  there  is  anything  that  will  aid 
the  man  doing  office  work,  it  should  be  employed  just 
as  far  as  economy  will  justify. 

The  development  of  certain  machinery  has  met 


170  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

much  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  working  classes 
who  thought  they  would  be  thrown  out  of  employ- 
ment. Such  a  short-sighted  policy  might  seem  proper 
as  a  temporary  expedient;  but  society  cannot  afford 
to  let  such  a  policy  prevail.  If  work  can  be  done 
cheaper  and  better  by  machine  than  by  hand,  the 
machine  should  be  allowed  to  do  it  and  some  other 
kind  of  work  found  for  the  people.  The  man  of  the 
future  who  is  wise  enough  to  desire  his  life  to  be 
spent  as  efficiently  as  possible  will  plan  his  time  and 
work  thoroughly,  and  will  use  every  means  at  his 
command  to  promote  effectiveness. 


P 


CHAPTER  XXV 

QUALITIES    OF    GOOD    WORK 

Must  be  Honest. — Honesty,  of  all  qualities  in 
man  is  probably  most  to  be  admired.  A  dishonest 
person,  though  he  possessed  every  other  known 
virtue,  would  fall  short  of  being  worthy  the  respect 
of  his  fellows.  Honesty  in  work  is  just  as  important 
as  in  a  person;  the  two  go  together.  If  a  person  is 
entirely  conscientious  about  what  he  does,  his  defects 
in  other  respects  may  be  overlooked,  as  the  employer 
knows  v/hat  he  can  expect  and  can  make  allowance. 
A  tricky  worker,  no  matter  how  brilliant  he  may  be, 
is  only  half  a  man,  since  complete  dependence  can- 
not be  put  in  him. 

A  person  taking  up  any  employment  should  re- 
solve to  give  it  his  full  time  according  to  whatever 
contract  has  been  made.  There  is  a  tendency,  espe- 
cially with  cheap  labor,  to  do  as  little  as  possible 
for  the  money.  A  boss  is  necessary  to  see  that  time 
is  not  wasted.  Usually  a  person  does  not  get  a  raise 
in  wages  till  after  he  has  earned  it;  hence  those  who 
are  dishonest  in  the  service  they  render,  generally, 
remain  on  the  low  wage  list  for  a  long  time,  and 

171 


172  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

they  curse  their  employer  for  what  is  really  their  own 
fault.  Merit  does  not  continue  long  unrewarded. 
So  in  work  as  well  as  in  other  things,  "honesty  is  the 
best  policy." 

The  young  man  who  wishes  to  meet  life  squarely 
will  not  be  honest  in  his  work  simply  as  a  matter  of 
policy  for  which  he  would  be  rewarded;  but  will 
give  the  full  measure  of  his  energies  to  his  work  be- 
cause it  is  right  to  do  so  and  because  he  does  not 
want  something  for  nothing. 

Must  Be  Accurate. — ^This  is  a  day  which  demands 
great  accuracy.  Machinery  of  precision  which  will 
do  its  work  with  the  greatest  exactness  has  been 
developed.  Even  in  calculating,  man  has  brought  to 
his  aid  mechanical  devices  at  great  expense  in  order 
to  overcome  his  inaccuracies. 

Accuracy  is  largely  a  habit  of  mind  and  can  be 
cultivated.  Some  people  are  naturally  precise  and 
do  things  properly,  while  others  have  to  watch  them- 
selves continually  to  avoid  mistakes.  It  is  a  good 
habit  not  to  let  a  piece  of  work  go  out  of  one's  hands 
till  it  has  been  checked  over  so  that  all  possible 
sources  of  error  are  eliminated.  If  this  is  done  a 
person  will  discover  where  he  is  wrong  in  time  to 
correct  himself. 

In  the  field  of  business  where  large  transactions 
are  involved,  a  mistake  of  a  few  cents  may  finally 
count  up  into  thousands  of  dollars.  In  science,  little 
errors  in  observation  or  calculation  have  often  led 


Qualities  of  Good  Work  173 

to  wrong  deductions  which  have  greatly  retarded 
the  discovery  of  a  truth.  Every  person,  whether  he 
is  working  for  himself  or  for  some  one  else,  should 
constantly  be  on  his  guard  to  develop  greater  ac- 
curacy. 

Must  Be  Rapid. — The  affairs  of  mankind  are 
moving  at  a  more  rapid  pace  than  ever  before.  The 
means  of  locomotion  and  communication  have  been 
absolutely  revolutionized  in  a  generation.  Distances 
which  required  months  to  cover  previously  are  now 
traversed  in  a  few  days.  A  message  can  now  be  sent 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth  in  a  few  minutes,  whereas, 
it  used  to  require  years  to  accomplish  the  same  end. 
In  order  to  keep  pace  with  the  times,  it  is  necessary 
for  people  to  think  and  act  quickly. 

This  is  a  day  of  keen  competition  in  every  field, 
and  the  man  who  can  do  the  greatest  amount  of 
work  in  a  day  can  do  it  cheapest,  thereby  outdoing 
his  competitors.  After  a  person  is  honest  in  his 
efforts,  and  learns  how  to  do  a  thing  accurately,  he 
should  then  strive  for  speed,  but  should  not  sacrifice 
honesty  and  accuracy  for  rapidity.  Speed  in  most 
work  can  be  acquired  by  constant  practise.  The 
muscles  can  be  trained  to  do  things  many  times  as 
fast  after  practise  as  at  first.  The  skill  of  some 
factory  hands,  in  doing  a  special  task  quickly,  is 
almost  a  marvel.  The  mind,  as  well  as  the  body,  can 
be  trained  to  great  activity  and  speed;  and  if  a 
person  wants  to  make  his  life  efficient,  he  should 


174         The  Yovng  Man  arid  His  Vocation 

train  both  body  and  mind  to  do  all  their  Work  with 
dispatch. 

Must  Be  Up-to-date. — Work,  to  be  of  the  best 
quality,  should  be  up-to-date,  embracing  all  the  world 
knows  about  it.  Many  men  have  become  first-class 
workmen  as  apprentices  when  young,  but  have  not 
kept  pace  with  the  advancement  of  the  world,  since 
their  methods  have  become  so  antiquated  as  to  be 
almost  useless.  The  merchant  or  banker  must  study 
the  signs  of  the  times  and  adopt  new  business  meth- 
ods as  they  are  developed  or  he  cannot  compete. 

The  farmer  who  follows  the  methods  of  his  great 
grandfather  and  pays  no  attention  to  the  new  devel- 
opments in  scientific  agriculture  is  standing  in  his  oWn 
light.  Never  before  have  there  been  such  great  ad- 
vances in  learning  and  invention  as  at  the  present 
which  makes  it  necessary  in  every  field  to  keep  one's 
hands  on  the  pulse  of  progress.  The  wise  young 
man,  as  he  takes  up  the  duties  of  life,  will  hold  him- 
self open  to  any  new  light  that  will  help  him  in  his 
work.  If  he  takes  this  attitude  it  will  be  easy  for 
him  to  keep  up-to-date  in  his  methods. 

Dependable  vs.  Non-dependable  Work. — The 
quality  of  work  a  person  can  do  is  of  little  impor- 
tance if  he  cannot  be  depended  on.  A  master  me- 
chanic was  at  one  time  employed  to  work  for  a 
company  that  said  they  could  well  afford  to  pay  him 
320  a  day  if  he  could  only  be  depended  on  every  day. 
About  every  so  often  he  would  become  drunken  and 


Qualities  of  Good  Work  175 

lay  off  a  week  when  he  was  most  needed.  As  a  re- 
sult, he  received  only  $2.50  a  day  and  he  would  have 
been  turned  out  entirely  if  his  place  could  have  been 
filled  by  some  one  else. 

Not  only  is  it  important  that  a  person  can  be 
depended  on  to  be  at  his  post  whenever  needed,  but 
the  quality  of  his  work  must  be  reliable.  The  world 
is  willing  to  pay  for  goods  that  can  be  thoroughly 
guaranteed,  and  it  is  just  as  willing  to  put  a  premium 
on  work  that  is  dependable.  It  is  much  better  to 
have  it  said  of  a  person  that  he  will  do  the  work 
than  that  he  can  do  it.  An  employer  is  usually 
willing  to  sacrifice  something  in  ability  for  the  sake 
of  getting  some  one  who  is  thoroughly  reliable. 

Work  Should  Be  Unselfish. — The  selfish  man  ap- 
peals to  others  as  being  a  dry,  warped,  malformed 
semblance  of  a  real  man;  just  as  a  wrinkled, 
shriveled,  partly-decayed  potato  has  some  of  the 
characteristics  of  the  fresh,  crisp  tuber.  Strip 
a  person  of  his  interest  in  others,  and  he  soon  withers 
in  mind  and  soul.  First  the  purse-strings  bind;  then 
the  heart-strings.  There  is  no  room  in  his  mind  for 
wants  of  widows  and  orphans;  they  must  give  him 
his  dues  to  the  uttermost  farthing.  Even  in  the 
business  world,  selfishness  does  not  pay.  Men  can 
no  longer  allow  themselves  to  become  mere  leeches. 
Open-handed  dealings  pay  as  advertisements.  A  few 
years  ago  a  well-to-do  merchant  gave  a  hundred  tons 
of  coal  to  the  poor  widows  of  a  certain  city.     When 


176         The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

questioned,  he  explained  that  he  knew  of  no  way  of 
using  five  hundred  dollars  to  bring  him  a  greater 
amount  of  business.  School  buildings  and  other  pub- 
lic improvements  are  often  assisted  by  wise  and  lib- 
eral men  of  wealth.  Should  greed  cause  a  man  to 
be  dishonest,  or  even  what  some  term  "shady,"  he 
will  soon,  in  all  probability,  and  surely  in  the  end, 
lose  by  it. 

Only  when  a  person  forgets  himsdf  in  the  interest 
of  others  can  he  really  do  the  most  good.  He  who 
constantly  seeks  reward  for  every  task,  and  honor 
for  every  deed  performed,  will  seldom  get  the  respect 
he  would  desire.  This  is  but  natural,  as  to  do  one's 
work,  one  must  be  absorbed  in  the  labor  and  not  in 
the  reward.  Each  person  has  all  he  can  possibly 
do  to  keep  his  plans  free  from  entanglement  and  his 
energies  unencumbered.  Let  him  detract  from  his 
strength  by  projecting  a  future  of  renown,  and  he 
must  fall  short  of  his  possibilities  because  of  failure 
to  concentrate  in  either  quality  or  quantity  of  effort. 
Take  for  example,  the  baseball  player  who  "grand- 
stands," his  faulty  playing  usually  shows  that  he  is 
more  interested  in  the  applause  than  in  the  game. 

There  is  something  about  one  who  seeks  personal 
glory  that  weakens  his  influence.  We  seem  to  feel 
his  lack  of  sincerity  and  unconsciously  scorn  him.  On 
the  contrary,  we  cannot  help  but  admire  and  respect 
true  unselfishness,  be  it  ever  so  humble. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

NEED  OF  AVOCATIONS  AND  RECREATION 

What  an  Avocation  Is. — ^The  average  work-a-day 
person  follows  some  general  occupation,  the  income 
from  which  furnishes  him  with  the  necessary  means 
to  support  himself  and  family.  This  is  a  vocation. 
There  may  be  certain  seasons  of  the  year  when  the 
work  slackens  or  discontinues  for  a  time,  as  with  the 
farmer  or  teacher.  There  may  be  a  portion  of  the 
day  unoccupied.  Employment  among  young  lawyers 
and  physicians  may  be  very  irregular.  It  is  possible 
that  some  work  may  be  fitted  into  idle  hours  or  sea- 
sons, which,  though  not  replacing  the  occupation, 
may  be  made  to  supplement  it.  Teachers  canvass, 
sell  life  insurance,  farm,  work  at  resorts,  etc.,  during 
vacations.  Our  most  successful  farmers  feed  stock, 
keep  a  dairy  herd,  and  manufacture  some  product 
during  the  winter  months.  One  lawyer  built  a  shop 
and  installed  an  engine  with  which  he  did  odd  ma- 
chine and  carpenter  work  and  ground  grain.  It  was 
commonly  said  that  he  earned  more  "on  the  side" 
than  from  his  law  business.  Some  one  in  every  town 
must  write  for  newspapers.     One  man   in  a  small 

177 


178  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

community  earns  twenty  to  forty  dollars  every  month 
by  sending  in  news  and  society  items.  Some  business 
men  in  suburbs  and  in  rural  districts  make  poultry 
or  hogs  pay.  These  extra  sources  of  employment 
and  income,  which  are  carried  only  as  the  occupation 
permits,  are  called  avocations.  One  man's  vocation 
may  be  another's  avocation.  Generally  the  income 
from  one's  avocation  is  not  so  important  to  him  as 
that  from  his  vocation.  Dairy  cows  may  pay  only 
for  their  keep  and  yet  be  profitable  to  the  general 
farmer.  Manifestly  this  Would  not  suffice  for  the 
dairyman;  they  must  furnish  him  his  living  above 
costs. 

Avocations  may  not  yield  any  income  at  all;  they 
may  satisfy  only  some  whim  or  fancy.  Some  rich 
people  maintain  a  farm  at  a  loss  in  order  to  employ 
their  young  people  and  have  a  country  home.  Can- 
vassing furnishes  a  chance  for  one  to  travel  and  pay 
a  portion  or  all  of  his  expenses.  This  appeals  to 
a  teacher  on  a  vacation,  but  not  to  a  regular  sales- 
man; the  business  must  pay  him  or  he  leaves  it. 

Desirable  Types  of  Avocation. — First,  an  avoca- 
tion must  fit  into  the  periods  of  regular  employment 
when  work  slackens  or  discontinues.  Farming  may 
be  a  desirable  avocation  for  one  with  a  long  summer 
vacation;  it  would  not  be  for  one  who  has  vacations 
at  irregular  intervals  or  during  the  winter.  A  farmer 
could  not  well  make  tending  a  resort  an  avocation 
because  both  demand  greatest  amount  of  work  in 


Need  of  Avocations  and  Recreation  179 

summer.  He  could,  however,  bale  hay  for  his  neigh- 
bors or  keep  beef  steers  and  hogs.  A  banker  could 
not  be  a  surveyor,  at  odd  times,  as  his  periods  of 
leisure  would  not  fit.  He  might  be  able  to  tend  a 
garden  or  play  in  an  orchestra  quite  handily. 

It  is  desirable  to  have  the  avocation  differ  from 
the  vocation  sufficiently  to  give  some  of  the  physical 
and  mental  rest  which  comes  from  a  change  in  work. 
It  would  not,  however,  be  wise  for  him  to  attempt 
anything  so  widely  variant  as  to  incapacitate  him  for 
usual  activities.  Pruning  an  orchard  in  the  home 
garden  is  likely  to  be  more  congenial  to  the  office 
clerk  than  carrying  brick  or  mixing  mortar.  It  would 
be  grossly  foolish  for  a  doctor  to  attempt  to  run 
a  greenhouse  alone.  While  upon  some  extended  call 
every  plant  in  the  hotbed  would  probably  be  ruined. 
The  nature  of  the  avocation  should  be  such  that  its 
product  will  not  be  destroyed  by  the  periods  of  em- 
ployment in  the  vocation.  An  author  might  success- 
fully operate  a  hothouse  if  interested  and  working 
at  home. 

Lastly,  some  avocations  develop  and  even  sup- 
plant regular  work.  Mr.  Roosevelt  for  example  did 
some  writing  all  during  his  career  as  police  commis- 
sioner and  office-holder.  Later  he  did  routine  work 
on  a  national  magazine.  It  is  far-sighted  to  develop 
a  slow  growing  skill,  step  by  step,  until  it  is  strong 
enough  to  become  of  support  as  well  as  a  power  in 
the  nation. 


180         The  Young  Man  and  His  location 

Need  of  Play  and  Rest. — We  all  tire.  The  farmer 
plods  the  plow  furrow,  tramps  hay,  or  pulls  weeds 
until  to  drag  one  foot  after  another  tires  his  very 
soul.  The  office  hand  sits  and  writes  or  computes 
figure  after  figure,  under  high  nervous  tension,  until 
he  feels  as  if  he  could  fly.  The  schoolboy  digs  out 
lesson  and  problem;  a  few  hours  finds  him  also  ready 
to  rest.  Even  musicians  and  lecturers  may  use  up 
nature's  ready  supply  of  energy  and  need  quiet. 

A  considerable  part  of  one's  rest  is  taken  in  sleep. 
A  large  part  of  our  rest  will  be  obtained  at  play. 
Play  is  simply  a  pastime  engaged  in  for  the  sake  of 
the  activity.  After  delving  all  day  into  knotty  prob- 
lems with  all  one's  power  concentrated  upon  the  out- 
come, how  free  one  feels  when  he  may  jump  and 
frolic  as  a  child.  Sometimes  in  the  middle  of  a  task, 
a  person  becomes  so  fatigued  that  he  weakens;  then 
he  needs  to  be  re-created — to  play.  Why  not.''  Ten 
minutes  in  a  good  brisk  walk,  a  game  on  the  lawn,  a 
good  laugh,  a  phone  call  home,  a  visit  if  possible,  or  a 
ripe  apple  and  a  cup  of  water  in  the  shade,  really 
makes  one  over  again.  Rests  pay;  they  clear  for 
action;  they  let  us  wipe  the  mist  from  the  spectacles 
of  our  souls;  they  do  re-create. 

Desirable  Types  of  Recreation. — The  most  desir- 
able kind  of  recreation  varies,  of  course,  with  people 
and  work.  The  man  who  carries  brick  all  day  needs 
a  different  form  of  play  than  the  banker.  The  old 
proverb  which  says,  "all  work  and  no  play  makes 


Need  of  Avocations  and  Recreation  181 

Jack  a  dull  boy,"  is  very  true.  Stand  a  moment  upon 
the  street  corner  and  watch  the  people  go  by.  See 
this  man:  his  face  is  drawn  and  the  shoulders  stoop. 
He  needs  a  rant  on  the  floor  with  Molly  and  Charlie. 
Now  what  does  this  little  girl  need?  Oh,  a  lawn, 
some  dishes,  and  a  rowdy  brother.  The  romp  makes 
you  smile  all  over,  especially  if  it  be  a  vigorous  one 
with  children.  With  children,  for  they  have  no  axes 
to  grind  and  you  fear  no  trap.  They  play  in  a  whole- 
souled  manner.  That's  what  you  need,  you  people 
tired  of  too  much  getting  and  spending.  Take  half 
an  hour  and  you'll  have  brighter  eyes,  keener  brains, 
and  lighter  limbs  with  which  to  face  the  day.  How 
different  you  feel  after  giving  Teddy  a  ride  on  your 
back  and  Helen  one  on  your  toe. 

Following  the  period  devoted  to  play,  some  profit- 
able employment  of  leisure  time  naturally  comes. 
One  may  read  either  poetry,  fiction,  or  science — some 
of  each  is  perhaps  best.  Who  is  not  better  able  to 
meet  the  tasks  of  the  day  with  "The  Recessional," 
"The  Lost  Chord,"  "On  the  Road  to  Mandalay," 
or  any  of  a  thousand  poems  at  his  tongue's  end  to 
drive  off  spells  of  private  choler.  Music  with  some 
people  supplants  reading.  To  mount  pictures,  do 
fancy  work,  roam  the  fields  and  foot-hills,  visit, 
drive,  or  ride,  care  for  a  pet,  etc.,  all  have  their 
devotees.  Any  one  is  good;  a  combination  of  sev- 
eral, better. 

Proper    Combining   of   Work    and   Play. — It    has 


182  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

already  been  noted  that  play  must  not  impede  our 
work,  but  accelerate  it — not  add  to  the  burden,  but 
drive  off  all  the  useless  cares  and  let  the  mind  and 
body  recuperate.  Playing  is  required  by  every  one. 
Rest,  also  essential,  need  not  come  in  idleness,  but 
in  some  pleasure-giving  and  profit-bearing  activity. 
Sleep  following  play  and  recreation  is  likely  to  be 
undisturbed. 

During  the  Civil  War,  in  the  midst  of  the  most 
trying  periods  of  planning  and  anxiety,  relief  came 
to  President  Lincoln  in  a  funny  story.  His  cabinet 
officers  thought  him  frivolous  to  laugh  at  such  times. 
A  bow  that  is  always  strung,  loses  its  spring. 

Again  play  and  work  do  not  mix.  Let  one  cease 
before  the  other  begins.  It  has  been  noted  that  only 
absolute  concentration  will  enable  a  person  to  do  his 
best  work.  When  at  play  no  worry  of  the  day's  trial 
must  linger.  Play,  to  be  play,  must  be  untrammeled. 
Regular  play  strengthens  as  do  regular  work,  regular 
meals,  and  regular  sleep.  People  may  play  between 
times,  but  not  during  them. 

"Work  while  you  work,  and  play  while  you  play; 
That  is  the  way  to  be  cheerful  and  gay." 


CHAPTER  XXVII 


COOPERATIVE    WORK 


Man  Cannot  Always  Work  Alone. — No  person 
is  entirely  independent  in  his  life,  but  he  is  in  some 
way  connected  with  the  rest  of  mankind;  his  labor 
is  dependent  on  theirs,  and  his  welfare  is  helped  or 
hindered  by  society.  On  the  other  hand,  the  efforts 
of  every  person  have  their  influence  on  others.  Even 
Robinson  Crusoe  isolated  on  an  island  was  indebted 
to  others  for  what  he  learned  before  being  ship- 
wrecked, as  these  things  were  a  help  to  him  in  his 
solitary  life. 

Most  of  the  occupations  of  man  involve  a  com- 
plex system  of  interlocking  work.  A  person  may 
direct  others,  and  at  the  same  time  be  responsible 
to  some  one  himself.  Even  in  such  very  independent 
callings  as  tilling  the  soil,  the  farmer  must  in  some 
respects  cooperate  with  others.  Indeed,  cooperation 
among  farmers  is  now  becoming  a  very  popular  sub- 
ject for  books  and  special  articles.  There  can  be  co- 
operation in  purchasing  and  marketing,  in  the  use  of 
animals  and  equipment,  in  combating  pests,  in  se- 

183 


184         The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

curing  advice,  in  irrigation  and  drainage  systems,  the 
use  of  help,  and  in  almost  every  phase  of  the  busi- 
ness. In  the  great  industries,  requiring  the  use  of 
much  labor,  there  is  a  constant  union  of  forces.  One 
man  working  alone  could  accomplish  little  toward 
operating  a  railroad  or  a  factory.  As  a  rule,  schools, 
mercantile  houses,  banks,  etc.,  have  a  corps  of 
hands  each  contributing  his  share  toward  the  suc- 
cess of  the  institution,  but  these  industries  are  some- 
times conducted  on  a  small  scale  by  a  single  indi- 
vidual. Even  where  this  is  the  case  there  must  be 
cooperation  between  the  operator  and  those  with 
whom  he  has  to  deal.  Thus  the  affairs  of  life  in- 
volve constant  cooperation,  and  if  a  person  wishes 
to  get  along  well,  he  should  learn  to  fit  into  the 
system. 

Reasons  for  Cooperation. — Men  in  all  ages  have 
realized  that  it  is  often  advantageous  to  work  to- 
gether. Where  one  man  did  not  have  large  enough 
flocks  or  herds  to  justify  the  entire  time  of  a  herder, 
he  joined  his  neighbors,  and  together  they  were  able 
to  employ  a  man  and  a  saving  resulted  to  each.  This 
principle  holds  in  most  of  the  business  affairs  of 
life.  It  is  not  possible  for  each  family  to  have  its 
individual  water  and  sewer  system,  or  electric  light 
plant,  hence  people  have  cooperated  to  install  these 
conveniences.  It  has  not  been  thought  desirable  for 
each  person  to  be  his  own  defense  against  criminals; 
hence  society  has  banded  itself  together  into  munici- 


Cooperative  Work  185 

palities  and  governments  for  mutual  protection  and 
benefit. 

Cooperation  allows  much  greater  specialization 
than  if  everything  were  attempted  by  each  indi- 
vidual. One  man  can  raise  crops,  another  handle 
the  commerce,  another  look  after  the  transportation; 
each  man  can  do  that  for  which  he  is  best  suited. 
No  two  persons  have  the  same  capabilities.  One 
likes  sedentary  employment,  while  another  prefers 
to  be  engaged  in  active  outdoor  work.  By  cooper- 
ation it  is  much  easier  for  individuals  to  do  the 
work  they  like,  and  are  best  suited  to  do,  than  if  a 
system  of  strict  individualism  were  practised. 

The  old  saying  that  in  union  there  is  strength 
is  very  true  in  many  of  the  industries.  If  only  a 
limited  amount  of  capital  were  available  it  would  be 
impossible  to  install  the  expensive  equipment  neces- 
sary to  do  certain  kinds  of  work  efficiently.  It  is 
possible  for  the  single  farmer  on  his  kitchen  stove  to 
condense  the  milk  produced  by  his  cows,  but  he  can- 
not do  it  without  much  waste  of  time  and  fuel,  and 
it  is  impossible  for  him  to  make  a  uniform  commer- 
cial product.  When  a  great  many  farmers  join  to- 
gether and  each  supplies  milk  to  a  common  condensed 
milk  factory,  modern  machinery  can  be  used  and  ex- 
pert workers  employed.  This  makes  possible  great 
economy  in  operation  as  well  as  insuring  a  market- 
able product  that  can  be  depended  upon. 

The  great  advantages  that  are  to  be  derived  from 


186         The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

cooperation  are  rapidly  making  this  an  age  when 
much  of  the  business  is  controlled  by  corporations. 
Nor  are  all  the  advantages  of  cooperation  confined 
to  business ;  they  extend  to  all  the  walks  of  life.  Edu- 
cation and  religious  work  are  benefited  by  the  use 
of  cooperative  methods. 

Doing  Good  Team  Work. — When  a  number  of 
persons  are  working  together  there  is  a  temptation 
to  do  star-performing  at  the  expense  of  the  rest  of 
the  team.  This  is  often  seen  in  athletics,  but  a  per- 
son is  not  a  good  man  on  an  athletic  team  till  he 
learns  to  sacrifice  himself  when  it  is  necessary  for 
the  good  of  the  team.  A  player  often  has  an  op- 
portunity to  make  a  good  record  as  an  individual 
when  by  so  doing  his  team  would  be  injured.  There 
is  a  temptation  to  gain  the  glory  for  himself,  but  if 
he  has  been  well  trained  and  has  a  keen  sense  of 
honor,  he  will  be  Willing  to  sacrifice  himself  for  the 
good  of  the  cause  he  represents. 

Every  person  is  not  able  to  work  well  in  an  or- 
ganization where  his  effort  is  but  one  of  the  cogs  in 
a  great  wheel.  Many  are  not  able  to  subject  them- 
selves to  the  regularity  and  routine  necessary  for 
such  work.  There  are  many  fine  oarsmen  who  are 
of  little  value  on  a  rowing  team  where  regular  con- 
certed work  is  necessary. 

All  who  have  driven  horses  hnow  how  important 
it  is  to  get  the  animals  to  pull  together  if  the  load 
is  stuck  in  a  mud  hole.     In  teams  that  are  not  welJ 


j 


Cooperative  Work  187 

trained,  or  if  the  driver  does  not  know  his  business, 
one  horse  lunges  ahead  with  all  his  strength  and  the 
other  is  pulled  back  against  the  wheel.  This  one  in 
turn  may  then  pull  his  best,  but  by  that  time  the 
first  one  has  ceased.  Two  horses  pulling  steadily 
together  will  move  a  larger  load  than  four  that  are 
pulling  on  the  see-saw.  If  a  person  Wants  his  life 
to  be  spent  efficiently,  he  should  learn  to  do  Work 
in  a  team  as  well  as  singly. 

Cooperation  in  the  Family. — The  family  is  one  of 
the  places  where  cooperation  can  be  done  most  effec- 
tively. If  there  is  a  perfect  understanding  betjvveen 
husband  and  wife  in  all  they  do,  their  efforts  will 
count  for  much  more  than  if  there  is  discord.  In 
some  families,  the  father  will  set  up  one  standard 
for  the  children  to  follow  and  the  mother  will  oppose 
it  and  help  the  children  to  disobey  the  father. 
Where  this  condition  is  found,  the  children  usually 
do  not  obey  either  parent,  and  all  the  instruction 
and  training  are  lost. 

In  some  families  the  parents  work  at  cross  pur- 
poses in  regard  to  financial  matters;  one  is  saving 
and  careful,  while  the  other  is  extravagant  and 
wasteful.  This  condition  leads  to  very  much  un- 
pleasantness. 

It  is  much  better  for  the  parents  to  be  united, 
even  on  an  imperfect  policy,  than  to  be  divided  under 
any  circumstances.  The  children  of  a  family  can 
be  of  great  service  to  each  other  if  only  the  spirit 


188  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

of  cooperation  exists  among  them.  They  can  help 
one  another  in  acquiring  an  education  or  attaining 
any  useful  end;  they  can  also  be  of  mutual  assistance 
in  business  enterprises.  A  very  successful  way  is 
for  father  and  sons  to  work  together  in  developing 
some  project.  The  father  can  give  the  necessary 
sound  judgment  based  upon  years  of  experience; 
while  the  sons  can  furnish  the  enthusiasm  and  energy 
necessary  to  carry  on  the  business  in  an  up-to-date 
manner. 

Cooperation  in  the  Community. — Community  co- 
operation is  a  theme  that  has  been  much  discussed 
of  late  years,  and  it  has  probably  not  received  more 
attention  than  its  importance  justifies.  The  ways  in 
which  the  various  individuals  can  help  each  other 
and  the  community  are  many;  the  injury  that  can 
be  done  by  a  neighbor  is  also  great.  Cooperative 
industries  are  usually  successful  if  given  full  sup- 
port, but  are  doomed  to  failure  when  opposed  by 
a  large  part  of  the  community.  Such  industries 
as  creameries,  cheese  factories,  canneries,  sugar  fac- 
tories, and  all  manner  of  manufacturing  plants, 
should  be  of  general  interest.  The  people  of  a  par- 
ticular district  by  working  together  may  make  it  fa- 
mous for  a  certain  product,  and  that  product  be  of 
much  greater  value  under  such  a  condition  than  if 
produced  only  in  small  quantities  in  the  region.  Buy- 
ers go  to  France  from  all  parts  of  the  world  to  get 
Percheron   horses,  just   as   they   go   to   the  Jersey 


Cooperative  Work  189 

Islands  for  milch  cows.  If  many  people  in  a  region 
are  engaged  in  the  same  industry,  it  is  easy  to  get 
skilled  help  in  that  industry,  since  most  of  the  popu- 
lation are  acquainted  with  it. 

The  individuals  of  a  town  or  city  should  cooperate 
with  each  other  in  securing  the  best  possible  civic 
conditions.  The  education  and  moral  tone  of  a 
community  can  easily  be  kept  up  to  a  high  standard 
if  all  the  members  work  together  to  that  end,  while 
a  few  individuals  can  accomplish  but  little.  In 
smaller  towns,  family  feuds  or  cliques  often  prevent 
cooperation.  Where  this  narrow-minded  condition 
is  allowed  to  exist,  progress  is  always  slow.  People 
should  learn  to  forget  personal  differences  for  the 
sake  of  community  advancement. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 


SUCCESS    IN    LIFE  S    WORK 


Standards  of  Success. — ^There  are  almost  as  many 
standards  of  success  in  life  as  individuals  in  the 
world.  These  may  be  placed  in  various  groups,  but 
the  individuals  of  a  group  will  differ  greatly.  One 
group  will  affirm  that  success  should  be  measured 
by  the  amount  of  this  world's  goods  a  man  is  able 
to  accumulate;  another,  that  if  a  person  has  been 
able  to  hold  a  place  of  high  social  standing,  he  has 
received  the  best  life  could  offer.  Some  think  the 
chief  thing  to  be  sought  in  life  is  fame,  that  a  name 
can  be  handed  down  to  receive  honor  from  future 
generations.  Many  believe  success  to  be  very  closely 
connected  with  rearing  a  family  in  honor;  while 
others  consider  the  matter  purely  from  a  personal 
standpoint,  thinking  that  if  they  as  individuals  have 
lived  a  pious  life  they  are  entitled  to  the  reward  for 
a  life  well  spent. 

One  should  avoid  taking  too  narrow  a  view  of 
success,  as  it  certainly  does  not  consist  of  any  single 
one  of  the  above  conditions.     One  man,  putting  his 

190 


Success  in  Life''s  ff'ork  191 

thumbs  in  the  arm  holes  of  his  vest,  said  with  con- 
siderable pride,  "I  am  a  man  who  has  made  a  suc- 
cess in  life.  My  family  has  never  wanted  for  a  dol- 
lar, and  I  can  now  die  leaving  them  all  comfortable." 
True,  he  had  made  money,  but  his  life  was  far  from 
successful,  measured  by  most  standards.  He  had 
contributed  nothing  to  mankind,  and  had  not  really 
been  good  to  his  family,  for,  as  soon  as  his  death 
occurred,  his  children  soon  squandered  what  was 
left  them.  As  they  had  never  learned  industry,  they 
became  parasites  on  society,  some  being  great  bur- 
dens, since  they  often  came  in  conflict  with  the  law. 

A  true  standard  of  success  should  embrace  things 
of  intrinsic  rather  than  conventional  value,  and  would 
probably  include  the  points  discussed  below. 

Personal  Development, — Any  standard  of  success 
that  does  not  include  personal  development  is  faulty. 
A  person  does  not  live  for  himself  alone,  but  if  he 
has  not  been  developed  during  his  life,  that  life  has 
been  a  failure.  The  surest  way  to  develop  one's  self 
is  to  assist  others,  so  if  no  development  has  been 
received  it  is  fairly  certain  that  but  little  good  has 
been  done. 

Some  people  complain  that  their  occupation  does 
not  allow  them  to  develop.  While  this  may  be  true 
to  a  limited  extent,  no  kind  of  work  can  hold  a  man 
down,  if  he  has  the  determination  to  learn  and  ad- 
vance. A  person  does  not  develop  to  full  stature  in 
a  day,  but  it  takes  a   lifetime  of  constant  effort. 


192  The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

He  must  use  odd  moments  when  the  majority  of  peo- 
ple are  idle. 

"The  heights  that  great  men  reached  and  kept, 
Were  not  attained  by  sudden  flight; 
But  they,  while  their  companions  slept, 
Were  toiling  upward  in  the  night." 

With  some  kinds  of  work  it  is  difficult  to  get 
much  intellectual  development  without  toiling  at 
night,  often  when  rest  is  needed;  but  intellectual 
training  is  not  the  only  thing  to  be  desired.  Every- 
thing that  is  praiseworthy  or  of  good  repute  should 
be  sought,  whether  it  is  in  method  of  doing  common 
things  or  learning  about  the  extraordinary.  The 
entire  man — head,  heart,  and  hand — should  be  made 
better  each  day,  if  he  is  to  claim  that  his  life  has 
been  fully  successful. 

Contributions  to  the  Vocation. — It  is  impossible  to 
get  anything  out  of  the  world  without  putting  some- 
thing into  it;  nor  should  a  person  require  his  profes- 
sion to  do  all  for  him  without  in  turn  contributing 
something  to  it.  If  a  person  has  practised  a  profes- 
sion or  been  in  a  business  all  his  life,  he  should  have 
discovered  something  new  about  that  business  or 
profession.  When  such  a  discovery  is  made,  it  is  his 
duty  to  make  the  fact  known,  in  order  that  it  can  be 
useful  to  others. 

A  doctor  constantly  treating  different  cases  gets  a 


Success  in  Lifers  Work  193 

great  experience  with  disease  during  his  life  of  prac- 
tise, and  it  is  his  duty  to  leave  the  science  of  medi- 
cine any  new  facts  he  may  have  learned.  The  farmer, 
after  raising  potatoes  and  corn  for  many  years, 
should  have  discovered  some  facts  of  value  to  later 
generations  of  farmers.  Fortunately,  during  late 
years  each  line  of  work  or  profession  is  getting  tech- 
nical journals  where  the  new  facts  of  that  special 
field  can  be  recorded.  This  makes  it  much  easier  for 
a  person  to  be  of  service  to  his  vocation  than  when 
such  information  could  be  printed  only  at  great  ex- 
pense. A  person  may  be  modest  about  forcing  his 
ideas  on  others,  but  he  should  not  withhold  any  in- 
formation that  can  be  used  to  aid  his  profession.  An 
example  that  will  be  remembered  almost  with  rever- 
ence is  of  the  doctors  who  allowed  their  lives  to  be 
sacrificed  to  demonstrate  hoW  yellow  fever  is  trans- 
mitted. 

Contribution  to  Mankind. — A  person's  chief  in- 
terest should  be  in  his  fellowmen.  It  should  be  his 
greatest  pleasure  to  do  them  service;  indeed,  man 
is  so  constituted  that  he  is  happiest  when  helping 
some  one.  The  person  who  is  entirely  selfish  in  his 
actions  and  does  things  solely  for  his  own  benefit 
never  gets  much  real  joy  out  of  life. 

Young  men  in  planning  their  careers  are  some- 
times so  short-sighted  that  they  consider  nothing  but 
their  own  selfish  welfare.  More  experience  would 
teach  them  that  such  a  course  is  folly.     A  wise  young 


194         The  Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

man,  before  he  chooses  his  work  for  life,  will  not 
only  consider  what  he  can  get  out  of  it,  but  he  will 
also  consider  what  he  can  give  that  will  be  of  bene- 
fit to  others. 

The  ways  in  which  a  person  can  benefit  mankind 
are  almost  infinite.  He  may  help  people  in  a  mate- 
rial way  by  developing  industries,  by  devising  a  bet- 
ter method  of  doing  something,  or  by  contributing 
directly  to  a  worthy  cause.  He  may  help  his  fellows 
by  always  living  an  exemplary  life,  and  thus  making 
it  easier  for  others  to  do  likewise.  He  can  always 
throw  his  influence  on  the  side  of  right  when  occa- 
sion permits,  and  thus  be  a  strength  for  good  in  the 
community  where  he  lives. 

Many  men  have  built  up  great  fortunes,  but  in  so 
doing  have  degraded  hundreds  of  their  fellow  crea- 
tures. Such  a  person  could  not  be  considered  success- 
ful in  life. 

History  contains  thousands  of  examples  of  men 
who  have  devoted  themselves  during  their  entire 
lives  to  the  service  of  their  fellowmen  and  their  lives 
are  considered  by  most  people  to  be  highly  success- 
ful, although  they  rarely  attained  worldly  wealth. 

James  Henry  Leigh  Hunt,  in  his  poem  entitled 
"Abou  Ben  Adhem,"  shows  the  real  place  the  love  of 
mankind  should  occupy: 

« 

Abou  Ben  Adhem  (may  his  tribe  increase). 
Awoke  one  night  from  a  deep  dream  of  peace, 


Success  in  Lifers  Work  195 

And  saw — ^within  the  moonlight  in  his  room, 
Making  it  rich  and  like  a  lily  in  bloom — 
A'l  angel  writing  in  a  book  of  gold. 

Exceeding  peace  had  made  Ben  Adhem  bold, 
And  to  the  presence  in  the  room  he  said, 
"V'^^hat  writest  thou?" — ^The  vision  raised  its  head, 
An£^,  with  a  look  made  all  of  sweet  accord, 
Ans*'ered,  "The  names  of  those  who  love  the  Lord." 
"And  is  mine  one.?"  said  Abou.     "Nay,  not  so," 
Replied  the  angel.     Abou  spoke  more  low. 
But  cheerily  still,  and  said,  "I  pray  thee,  then, 
Write  me  as  one  who  loves  his  fellow  men." 

The  angel  wrote  and  vanished.     The  next  night 

He  came  again  with  a  great  wakening  light. 

And    showed   the   names   whom   love   of  God    had 

blessed. 
And  lo!    Ben  Adhem's  name  led  all  the  rest. 

Joy  and  Happiness  in  Work. — "Man  is  that  he 
might  have  joy"  is  one  way  of  looking  at  the  pur- 
pose of  human  existence.  Joy  does  not  mean  tem- 
porary pleasure  but  that  fuller  happiness  that  comes 
as  a  result  of  life  well  spent.  If  at  the  end  of  life 
one  felt  nothing  but  regret,  if  sorrow  and  unhappi- 
ness  had  been  his  constant  portion,  it  would  hardly 
be  consistent  to  say  that  his  life  had  been  entirely 
successful. 


196  The   Young  Man  and  His  Vocation 

A  certain  kind  of  sorrow  comes  into  the  life  of 
every  one  which  is  caused  by  the  loss  of  dear  ones  or 
by  unavoidable  misfortunes;  but  this  sorrow  does  not 
necessarily  lessen  the  joys  that  should  fill  a  person's 
days.  In  fact,  joy  and  sorrow  are  often  very  closely 
connected.  Tennyson,  who  was  made  very  sad  by 
the  loss  of  his  friend,  Arthur  Henry  Hallam,  still 
felt  that  his  life  was  enriched  by  having  met  his 
friend  and  he  voiced  the  idea  by  saying: 

"I  hold  it  true  whate'er  befall; 
I  feel  it,  when  I  sorrow  most; 
'Tis  better  to  have  loved  and  lost, 
Than  never  to  have  loved  at  all." 

There  is  a  joy  that  should  come  as  a  result  of  ac- 
complishment; there  should  be  happiness  resulting 
from  the  association  with  friends  and  loved  ones; 
and  all  along  the  path  of  life  a  person  should  get  sat- 
isfaction. Wealth  and  social  standing  without  happi- 
ness are  of  little  value,  and  a  person  cannot  claim  to 
have  had  complete  success  in  life  unless  he  has  had 
a  good  measure  of  joy,  even  though  he  be  the  owner 
of  a  city. 

Actual  Accomplishments . — It  is  probable  that  one 
of  the  very  best  measures  of  success  in  life  is  actual 
accomplishment.  Some  men  are  fortunate  in  that 
their  efforts  have  been  productive,  and  they  have  a 
long  list  of  deeds  to  their  credit;  while  others  who 


Success  in  Lifers  Work  197 

have  worked  equally  hard  have  but  little  to  show 
for  their  labors.  The  difference  may  be  due  to  man- 
agement or  it  may  be  attributed  to  a  chain  of  un- 
avoidable misfortunes.  The  world  to-day  does  not 
want  excuses,  but  it  wants  results.  It  is  not  so  much 
interested  in  what  a  man  might  have  done  if  things 
had  been  different,  as  in  what  he  actually  did.  They 
want  the  "message  to  be  delivered  to  Garcia,"  and 
will  ailow  the  messenger  to  pass  the  camps  of  the 
enemy  as  best  he  can.  The  important  thing  is  for 
him  to  overcome  all  difficulties  and  deliver  the  mes- 
sage in  safety. 

The  little  boy  who  had  been  fishing,  when  asked 
by  his  mother  regarding  his  success,  said  he  almost 
caught  twenty-five.  He  had  but  one  fish,  however, 
on  his  stick,  and  it  was  this  fish — not  the  twenty-five 
— that  contributed  to  the  family  dinner.  If  a  person 
has  spent  his  earnings  in  extravagant  living  and  has 
dissipated  his  energies  in  useless  pleasures,  it  is  lit- 
tle comfort  at  the  close  of  his  life  to  look  back  and 
say  that  such  and  such  might  have  been  accomplished 
had  a  different  course  been  taken.  The  following 
quotation  from  Maud  Muller  emphasizes  this  fact: 

"Of  all  sad  words  of  tongue  or  pen, 
The  saddest  are  these,  Tt  might  have  been.'  " 

A  person  who  has  been  successful  in  his  life's  work 
will  be  developed  physically,  mentally,  and  spiritu- 


198  The  Young  Alan  and  His  Vocation 

ally;  will  have  been  of  value  to  his  profession  and  to 
mankind;  will  have  tasted  happiness;  and  as  he  sur- 
veys his  life,  he  will  see  the  practical,  tangible  results 
of  his  efforts.  He  will  have  known  more  of  good 
than  of  bad,  more  of  joy  than  of  sorrow;  and  the 
world  will  be  better  for  his  having  lived. 


INDEX 


Accomplishment,  the  measure 
of  success,  196 

Accuracy  in  work,  172 

Actors,  compensation  of,   107 

Advantages  of  manufacturing 
to  community,  60 

Agreeableness  in  business,  49 

Agriculture  defined,  23;  divi- 
sions of,  24;  how  to  enter,  32; 
opportunities  in,  31;  prepara- 
tion needed  for,  27 

Aids  to  efficiency,  169 

Apprenticeships,  advantages  of, 
142 

Architecture,  definition,  73;  im- 
portance of,  74;  opportutities 
in,  76;  qualities  of,  74;  training 
for,  75 

Art,  importance  of,  103;  oppor- 
tunities in,  105;  preparation 
for,  104,  105 

Artist,  personal  qualities  of  an, 
104 

Authorship,  121,  126;  qualifica- 
tions for,  126 

Avocations,  defined,  177;  de- 
sirable types  of,  178;  need  of, 
177 


Banker,  qualifications  of,  54 

Banking,  effect  on  man,  54;  need 
for,  53 

Beginning  in  Business,  46,  47 

Blessing  of  Work,    149 

Brokers,  59 

Business,  beginning  in,  46;  hon- 
esty in,  43;  need  of  cost  ac- 
counting in,  50;  personal  re- 
quirements, 49;  scope  of,  42; 
training  for,  45;  working  up 
in,  48 


Chance  Vocations,  131 

Changes  in  form  of  work,  15 

Choice  of  trades,  41 

Choosing  a  vocation,   131,   133 

Classification  of  agriculture,  24; 
of  manufacturing,  60;  of  voca- 
tions, 16 

Commerce,  branches  of,  51 

Commission  men,  59 

Commonplace  vs.  spectacular, 
136 

Competition  in  business,  49 

Compensation  in  mining,  112; 
of  actors,  107;  of  teachers,  100 


199 


200 


Index 


Complexity  of  modern  society, 
10;  of  transportation,  55 

Contribution  to  mankind,  193; 
to  vocations,  192 

Cooperation,  benefits  of,  184; 
in  the  community,  188;  in  the 
family,  187;  in  work,  185,  189 

Cost  accounting  and  scientific 
management  in  business,  50 

Cultivate  activity  for  success, 
153 

Dangers    of    over-specialization, 

13 
Definition  of  agriculture,  23;  of 

a    trade,    34;   of   architecture, 

lli'f  of  business,  42;  of  politics, 

91;  of  research  and  invention, 

114 
Dentistry,  qualifications  for,  84 
Dependable    work    in    demand, 

174 
Development      of      enthusiasm, 

162;  personal,   191 
Devotion  to  one  vocation,  159 
Dignity   of   ordinary   vocations, 

137 
Division  of  labor,   10 
Divisions  of  agriculture,  24 
Doctor,     preparation     for,     82; 

qualifications  of,  79 
Doctors,  over-production  of,  81 
Doing  something  valuable,  153 
Drudgery    relieved    from    work, 

162 


Economical  methods  of  getting 
a  living,  20 

Education,  benefit  to  farmer,  28; 
for  business  man,  45;  needed 
by  farmer,  27;  needed  by  mer- 
chant, 53 

Effect  of,  farming  on  man,  28; 
trades  on  man,  38 

Efficiency,  in  work,  165,  167; 
kinds  of,  165;  mechanical  aids 
to,  169;  needs  of,  166 

Energy  and  push  give  success, 
137 

Energy  in  business,  49 

Engineer,  desirable  qualities  of, 
68 

Engineering,  kinds  of,  67;  op- 
portunities in,  72;  prepara- 
tion for,  71 

Enthusiasm,  development  of, 
16;  in  work,  16 

Factory  conditions  undesirable, 

62 
Failure  the  result  of  laziness,  151 
Farmer,  compensation,  30;  qual- 
ifications for,  25 
Farming,  how  to  begin,  32 
Forging  ahead  in  business,  48 
Foresight,     importance     of,     to 
vocation,  134 

Getting  a  living,  methods  of,  19 
Great  men  are  workers,  147 
Guidance,  vocational,  131 


Earning  a  living,  methods  of,  20       Habits  of  industry,  153,   155 


Index 


201 


Happiness  and  joy  in  work,  195 
Happiness  from  action,  145 
Health  and  action,  146 
Helping  improve  the  world,  193 
Helping  others  enjoy  work,  163 
Honesty  in  business,  43;  in  work, 

171 
Honor  of  all  work,  148 

Idleness  dishonorable,  148 
Idleness  means  failure,  146 
Idler  a  parasite  to  society,  154 
Importance  of  art,  103;  of  min- 
ing,   109;  of  teaching,  96;  of 
the  press,  121;  of  trades,  34 
Industrial  changes,    15 
Industries  classified,  20 
Industry,    cultivation    of,    153; 
habit   of,    155;    infusing    into 
others,    163;  necessary  to  ac- 
complishment, 151 
Insurance,  importance  of,  56 
Invention  and  research,   114 

Journalism  and  authorship,  121; 

opportunities  in,  124 
Joy  and  happiness  in  work,  195; 

from  work,  145,  147,  153 

Kinds    of,    manufacturing,    60; 

mining,  109;  teaching,  96 
Knowledge    needed    by    farmer, 

25;  by  merchant,  52 

Labor,  division  of,  10 

Law,  need  of,  85;  opportunities 


in,  88;  preparation  necessary. 

87 
Lawyer,    desirable    qualities   of, 

86 
Laziness  and  failure,  151 
Learning  a  trade,  36 
Life,  preparation  for,   139,   141, 

143 
Love  of  one's  work,  158 
Luck  in  business,  46 

Management,     in     manufactur- 
ing, 62;  of  business  and  cost 
accounting,  50 
Man,    effect   of   agriculture   on, 
28;   effect   of   trades   on,    38; 
likes  to  expend  energy,  145 
Manufacturing,    advantages    of, 
to  community,  60;  importance 
of,  60;  kinds  of,  60;  personal 
requirements,     64;     scientific 
management  of,  62 
Medicine,    importance    of,     78; 

training  for,  82 
Men,  handling  of,  in  manufactur- 
ing, 63 
Mentality    improved    by    work, 

146 
Merchandising,  necessity  of,  51 
Merchant,  qualifications  for,  52 
Merchants,  compensation  of,  52 
Methods,    of    classifying    voca- 
tions,  16;  of  getting  a  living, 
19 
Miner,  requirements  of,  110 
Mining,   compensation   in,    112; 
importance  of,  109;  kinds  of. 


202 


Index 


109;    opportunities     in,     112; 

preparation    for,     111;    wages 

in,  112 
Modern  society,   complexity  of, 

10 
Music  as  a  vocation,  106 
Music  teachers,  demand  for,  106 

Need  of  vocations,  9 
Number  engaged  in  occupations, 
21 

Occupations,  numbers  engaged 
in,  21 

Opportunities,  as  a  politician, 
93;  for  writing,  121;  in  agri- 
culture, 31;  in  art,  105;  in 
architecture,  76;  in  business, 
48;  in  engineering,  72;  in  in- 
surance, 56;  in  Journalism, 
124;  in  law,  88;  in  mining, 
112;  in  research,  119;  in 
teaching,  101;  in  trades,  40; 
with  newspapers,  123;  with 
telephone  and  telegraph,  57 

Original  work  best,  174 

Persistence  to  one  vocation,  156 
Personal   development,    191 
Personal  qualifications,  of  a  far- 
mer, 25;  of  banker,  54 
Personal    qualities,    for    trades- 
man, 35;  of  an  artist,  104 
Personal  requirements,  of  busi- 
ness   man,    49;    of    insurance 
man,  57;  of  manufacturer,  64 


Persons  engaged  in  each  occu- 
pation, 21 

Planning  brings  success,   152 

Plans,  value  of,  167 

Play  a  necessity,  180 

Pleasure  not  always  expected  in 
work,  158 

Politics,  as  a  career,  93;  defini- 
tion of,  91;  importance  of,  92 

Preliminary  training  of  youth, 
133 

Preparation,  for  a  doctor,  82; 
for  agriculture,  27;  for  an 
architect,  75;  for  art,  104,  105; 
for  business,  45;  for  engineer- 
ing, 71;  for  law,  87;  for  manu- 
facturing, 65;  for  mining.  111; 
for  newspaper  work,  123;  for 
research,  1 17; for  teaching,  99; 
for  telephone  and  telegraph 
work,  5S;  the  key  to  opportu- 
nity, 143 

Qualifications,  for  a  doctor,  79; 
for  an  engineer,  68;  for  a  law- 
yer, 86;  for  banker,  54;  for 
farming,  25;  for  research,  116; 
for  tradesman,  35;  of  a  mer- 
chant, 52;  of  a  miner,  110;  of 
a  musician,  106;  of  an  archi- 
tect, 74 

Rapid  work  pays  best,  172 
Real  estate  dealers,  59 
Recreation,    desirable   types   of, 
180;  need  of,  177 


Index 


203 


Requirements  of  newspaper  man, 
114 

Research,  compensation,  119; 
importance,  115;  opportuni- 
ties in,  119;  preparation  for, 
117;  qualifications  for,  116 

Research  and  invention,  defi- 
nition of,  114 

Rest,  need  of,  180 

Salary,  choice  of  vocation  by, 
135;  of  farmer,  30;  of  mer- 
chant, 52;  of  tradesman,  38 

Schools,  importance  of,  142 

Schooling,  theories  of,  139 

Scientific  management  in  manu- 
facturing, 62 

Scope  of  business,  42 

Selfishness  means  low  success, 
175 

Society  despises  an  idler,  154 

Specialization,  9 

Spectacular  careers,   136 

Stage,  the,  107 

Stage  work  as  a  vocation,  107 

Standards  of  success,  190 

Success,  importance  of  training 
for,  143;  in  life's  work,  190; 
means  accomplishment,  196; 
requirements  of,  134;  stand- 
ards of,  190 

Teachers,  compensation  of,   100 
Teaching,  as  a  vocation,  96;  im- 
portance of,  96;  kinds  of,  96; 
opportunities  in,  101;  prepara- 
tion for,  99 


Telephone  and  telegraph,  voca- 
tional possibilities,  57 

Thoroughness  in  training,  141, 
143 

Time  counts,   152 

Trade,  learning  of,  36 

Trades,  choice  of,  41;  definition 
of,  34;  effect  on  man,  38;  im- 
portance of,  34;  schooling  for, 
37 

Tradesman,  opportunities  open 
to,  40;  pay  of,  38;  qualities 
desirable  in,  35 

Training,  for  agriculture,  27; 
for  architecture,  75;  for  en- 
gineering, 71;  for  research, 
117;  for  the  future,  133,  139, 
142;  of  business  man,  45; 
thoroughness  in,  141,  143 

Transportation,  branches  of,  55 

Undesirable   factory   conditions, 

62 
Undivided  work,  9 
Uneconomical  methods  of  getting 

a  living,  19 

Value,  of  cooperation,  186;  of 
high  names,  153;  of  honesty  in 
business,  43;  of  planning,  152 

Vocation,  by  chance,  131;  im- 
provement of,  by  self,  192; 
keynote  to  success  in,  137;  of 
music,  106;  of  teaching,  96; 
preparation  for,  139;  relation 
to  salary,  135 


204 


Index 


Vocational,  change  undesirable, 

156;  guidance,  132 
Vocations,   need  of,  9 

Wages,  in  mining,  112;  of  trades- 
man, 38 
Waste  time,  utilization  of,  152 
Work,  a  blessing,  not  a  curse, 
149;  and  play,  proper  com- 
bination of,  181;  builds  char- 
acter, 148;  cooperative,  183, 
185,  189;  division  of,  10; 
efficiency  in,  165,  167;  en- 
thusiasm  in,    16;   honesty   in, 


171;  is  honorable,  148;  love  of, 
158;  makes  great  man,  147; 
means  health,  146;  must  be 
dependable,  174;  must  be 
steady,  151;  must  be  up-to- 
date,  174;  need  for,  11;  over- 
specialization  in,  13;  quali- 
ties of  good,  171;  rapidity 
counts  in,  172;  required  by 
bankers,  54;  sometimes  irk- 
some, 158;  undivided,  9;  value 
of  accuracy  in,  172;  without 
drudgery,  163 
Working  up  in  business,  48 


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